


Siren

by SailorChibi



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: BAMF Peggy Carter, Bucky Barnes does not want to be an Avenger, Bucky Barnes just wants to sleep, Character Death, Civil War Team Iron Man, Clones, Comic Book Science, Gen, Hand wavy science, Happy Ending, Mind Control, Not Clint Barton Friendly, Not Steve Rogers Friendly, Original Female Characters - Freeform, POV Steve Rogers, Pardons, Peggy Carter Lives, Peggy Carter as an Avenger, Peggy Carter is Tony Stark's godmother, Phil Coulson lives, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Protective James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Protective Peggy Carter, Steve Rogers doesn't pay much attention to what other people want, Steve Rogers is clueless, The salt content is high with this one, and is most likely completely inaccurate, because a baseball cap is not a good disguise, but I promise they don't play a huge role, but it was fun to torment Steve with, hand wavy legalities, hand wavy politics, holograms, justification of mind control, no spoilers for infinity wars, not wanda maximoff friendly, one-sided steve rogers/peggy carter, peggy carter is done with this shit, peggy carter is pretty pissed off at the moment, seriously this fic is not kind the exvengers, sometimes it's just easier to make steve's idiocy glaringly obvious when it's his POV, steve rogers gets punched in the face, steve rogers is oblivious, that's a running theme in my works, the closer we get to IW the more salty I get, this contains guesswork on how the avengers will be run from now on, wanda maximoff character death, wanda maximoff's mind manipulation, way to play the guilt card Steve, well happy ending if you don't like steve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-23
Updated: 2018-04-23
Packaged: 2019-04-26 14:42:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 30,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14404269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorChibi/pseuds/SailorChibi
Summary: When the exvengers were granted pardons, they return to the Compound. Steve was prepared to fight an uphill battle, but not for the biggest change of all:a clone of Peggy Carter, who is already at the Compound and acting as the newest Avenger. Determined to see everything go back to the way it was, Steve, Wanda and Clint become obsessed with figuring out a way to upstage the New Avengers and prove that the Accords are unnecessary.Spoiler: their plan doesn't work.





	Siren

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this in the span of about two weeks. I've wanted to write a story about Peggy and Steve post-Civil War for a long time now. I didn't realize how much story I had in me. Naturally, this was way longer than it was supposed to be and ended up being about way more than just Peggy and Steve. I specifically did not name the country or the town where "the plan" happens. I had no particular place in mind.

As wonderful as Wakanda had been to them, there was no substitute for the United States. The second his foot touched down, a tension that Steve hadn’t even known he was carrying suddenly eased, and he suddenly felt lighter. Looking around at the rest of the team, he could see the change reflected in their faces as well. Clint actually smiled, which was something that he hadn’t done since receiving Laura’s divorce papers.

It also helped that they were being taken straight from the airport to the Compound. Steve couldn’t wait to see their home again. He wanted to show Bucky his room. He wanted to get Bucky his own room. He wanted everything to go back to normal, except it would be better this time because Bucky was with them. He grinned with excitement, giving Bucky a playful nudge, and saw Bucky’s lips twitch in response. Not a smile, not yet, but it was close.

The trip to the Compound was spent in silence, all of them lost in their own worlds. Truth be told, none of them were sure what was going to happen when they got there. T’Challa had told them they were pardoned, but had also said something about conditions. He hadn’t listed them all, but they all knew that one of those conditions would be putting their signatures on the Accords. Steve had not agreed to do that, though he also hadn’t disagreed: he was waiting to state his opinion in person, when it would have more of an impact.

There was a small crowd waiting for them when the car pulled up. Steve recognized some of them. It would be impossible not to. The New Avengers – a term coined by the press – had been all over the news in the past two years. Captain Marvel, Vision, War Machine, and Spider-Man were missing, but Iron Man, Dr. Strange, Wasp and Siren were standing by, along with Everett Ross. The other people, all clad in dark business suits, were unfamiliar.

He got out of the car first, looking over the other team. He was familiar with Iron Man, Dr. Strange and even Wasp to some extent, but Siren was the true mystery. She was wearing very similar armor to Iron Man, except hers was bright blue with hot pink accents and cut to fit a woman’s body. In the bright sunlight, the silver detailing across the torso glistened. Definitely not made for stealth. 

No one knew who she was. Superheroes were not required to share their identities with the world in order to sign the Accords. Steve had heard that was an amendment Tony had done not long after the Accords came into effect. The voice modifier that Tony put into all of the armors meant that no one could recognize her voice. A lot of people thought that it was probably Potts, but Potts herself had neither confirmed nor denied the claim – and Steve wasn’t sure what that meant.

“Hello, Mr. Rogers,” Ross said, thrusting a hand out. “Good to see you.”

“And you,” Steve said. “It’s good to be home.”

“I’m sure, I’m sure. We have some last minute things to go over,” Ross said, gesturing to the people behind him. “We do, of course, need you to sign the Accords. Each of you has been assigned a lawyer who will personally go over both the Accords and the conditions of your pardons.”

“What if we don’t want to sign?” Steve asked. It came out more aggressive than he’d intended, but he stood by the question. He thought he heard Wasp snort, but, when he looked in her direction, her face was blank.

Ross blinked. “Your pardons can be amended, in that case,” he said. “You’ll have to find a new residence.”

“We can’t live here if we don’t sign?” Wanda demanded.

“Well, no,” Ross said, as though that were obvious, staring at her in surprise. “The Compound is funded by the United Nations and the Accords Council. It is publicly owned property and it’s in the agreement that only those who have signed the Accords are permitted to live here.”

“That something Stark dreamed up?” Clint asked, sneering.

The faceplate of the Iron Man suit slid up, revealing Tony’s bored face. “Did your listening skills deteriorate in all that Wakandan heat?” he asked mildly. “S.I. doesn’t own this place anymore. I graciously donated it to the Council for their use. They’re the ones who keep it running and they’re the ones who take care of everything, which means they’re the ones who decide who lives here.”

“Indeed. Mr. Stark was generous enough to donate the building to our cause.” Ross smiled. “You did read the information packages I forwarded to you? Everything was in there.”

Steve glanced at the others. None of them would meet his eye, not even Natasha. He sighed. “I’m afraid we had other things on our mind.”

“Right, well. As I said, the lawyers can get you up to speed. Pleasure to have you back.” Ross nodded and smiled again and then walked away. Two of the people split off from the group and followed him. A grim, unsmiling woman with red hair walked over to Steve. She was wearing a black suit and looked so immaculately made-up that Steve immediately began to feel like his jeans and button-up shirt were inappropriate.

“Mr. Rogers, my name is Catherine Anderson. If you’d follow me.”

“I’d like to talk to Tony, actually,” Steve said. Hearing the whir of thrusters, he looked over just in time to see Iron Man and Siren lifting off the ground. They shot up into the sky and, in a matter of seconds, were mere dots.

Catherine cleared her throat. “That will be covered in your package,” she said. “Follow me.”

Frowning, Steve obeyed. He didn’t even realize that Natasha, Sam, Scott, Clint and Bucky were being shown to different places until he walked into the room and Catherine closed the door. He whirled on her. “What the hell is this? Where’s Bucky?!”

“Mr. Barnes is with my associate, Ms. Xu,” Catherine said calmly.

“I want to see him!”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible at this time. Please sit. We have a lot of paperwork to go over.”

Steve fumed but sat, glaring at her. She was unaffected, setting out documents until there was a considerable stack of paperwork. He grabbed the closest pages and leafed through him, eyebrows raising as he caught words about employment and wages and rent. None of that made any sense or was even relevant. The Avengers had never had to worry about this stuff. Tony took care of it all.

“What is this?” he demanded.

“That is your employment package. It outlines your rate of pay, lodgings, insurance, and contract.”

“My… my what?”

Catherine met his eyes squarely. “Mr. Rogers, the Avengers are no longer permitted to live on Mr. Stark’s dime. If you are an Avenger, you are essentially an employee of the Accords Council. You will be paid a wage. You will use that wage to buy things for yourself. This agreement stipulates that your wage will be garnished each month to help pay for the damages that you caused in Lagos, at the airport, and in some other places. Some money will also be taken each month in accordance with the fact that you will also have a room at the Compound, as well as three meals provided a day through the cafeteria. If you wish to have an apartment outside the Compound, that is your decision.”

She pointed to a number on the sheet, which was underlined. “That will be your wage. Should you not accept the position, the terms of your pardon will be changed, and you will be responsible for finding yourself a job and a place to live.”

Steve stared at the documents, speechless. Catherine seemed to take that as an invitation, as she continued to talk. Amongst the wage garnishment, Steve was restricted as to where and when he was permitted to leave: unless he was on a mission, he was required to be at the Compound between the hours of 10pm – 6am, and only his team captain could determine what was an acceptable mission to exclude him from that without penalty.

That was just the start of it. He’d been stripped of his title as leader of the Avengers. If he wanted to continue on with the team, he had to submit to psychological and physical testing to make sure he was fit. He also wasn’t allowed to choose who he worked with. There would be two separate teams, and, if he passed, Steve would be assigned to one once his tests were complete.

“This can’t be real,” Steve said finally. Catherine was in the midst of explaining where he’d be permitted to go on the grounds of the Compound. Her eyebrows furrowed.

“I assumed you were familiar with passkeys.”

“I am!”

“These operate similarly to any other, then. Your passkey will determine where you can go. If you swipe and the light turns blue, you’re allowed to enter. Any red light means you don’t have permission to go in.”

“I know that, I just…” Steve trailed off, running his hands through his hair. He wondered about the others. Clint had probably lost his temper a long time ago. He’d been off ever since the divorce. Were Natasha and Sam running up against the same barriers? Wanda? Bucky?

“It’s like they don’t want me here,” he said finally.

Catherine sat back. “Mr. Rogers, I’ll be frank. You came very close to not being allowed to return. Were it not for some looming threats, you wouldn’t have been. Make no mistake, you are being watched very carefully. At the slightest hint of you getting out of bounds, the Accords Council would not hesitate to have you imprisoned. That goes for your whole team.”

“But Tony –”

“Mr. Stark,” Catherine said forcefully, “has nothing to do with this. He is merely another Avenger, and I assure you that I have had a similar talk with him. The sun does not rise and fall on Mr. Stark’s shoulders. He is not the sum of our world. This was the Council’s decision and I wholeheartedly support it, which is why I am here on their behalf.”

Steve scowled. He was certain Tony could’ve gotten them out of this if he wanted to. “So you’re garnishing Tony’s wages?” he said sarcastically. Wages! As though you could put a price on being a superhero!

“No, we’re not. Mr. Stark was able to provide adequate proof of his relief efforts, not only personally but through his company as well. Any wage garnishment could not compare.” She folded her hands. “Am I wasting my time here? Do you even want to be an Avenger?”

“Of course I do,” Steve said, stung.

“Then please let me do my job and finish. We have a lot to get through, including the Accords.” She saw the look on his face and her eyes narrowed. “Let me remind you, signing the Accords is a requirement of being an Avenger. Any attempts at vigilantism will be punished swiftly and harshly.”

“So you’re saying I’m either Captain America through the Avengers or not at all,” Steve said. Suddenly Natasha’s calm words about how much they were needed and how irreplaceable they all were rung hollow. During the long Wakandan nights, they’d all clung to the fantasy that everyone would realize they were right, and they’d be welcomed back on bended knee. 

For the first time, it was really hitting him how foolish that was.

“Exactly,” Catherine said with a nod. “Captain America does not belong to you. The idea, the _persona_ , can and will be taken up by other people if necessary.”

Steve breathed shallowly at that. He may have left the shield behind, but that was because he’d thought – apparently mistakenly – that no one could take away Captain America. He didn’t like hearing that people thought he could so easily be discarded and replaced by someone else. They were all wrong, of course, but didn’t the sacrifices he’d made count for anything? Didn’t anyone care that Steve had done what he did because he wanted to protect people from agendas?

“I need a break,” he said finally. His head hurt. He needed time to think in private, and maybe to talk to Natasha and make sure that Bucky was okay.

“Very well. Please meet me back here in exactly one hour. If you get lost, someone will guide you back,” Catherine said.

When Steve stepped out into the hallway, he saw a series of closed doors. Instinct told him that it would be best not to knock, so he walked back the way he and Catherine had originally come. His brain was spinning. He hadn’t known that it would be like this. None of this information had been included in the news about the pardons. He’d thought… they’d all thought that the world had finally seen reason.

It had been a while since Steve visited the Compound, but he still remembered his way around. He would have visited the cafeteria, but Catherine’s words about the meal plan haunted him. She’d as good as told him that anything outside of the three meals a day would have to be paid for with his own money, and right now Steve had no money. His wallet had a credit card with Tony’s name on it and that was all; what little money he’d had was seized by the courts while they were fugitives. He didn’t know if he’d ever get it back.

Until he signed the Accords and the contracts, he didn’t even have a meal plan.

So he walked on, looking around to see what had changed. The Compound was busier than before, and he recognized some ex-SHIELD agents. Most of them glared at him when he passed by, so Steve didn’t try to speak to them. He found his way to the viewing platform that overlooked what had once been his favorite gym, and there he found two of the New Avengers.

“You’ll have to do better than that, kiddo!” Siren yelled. The repulsors that held her aloft were pink, not blue. Even with the voice modifier, Steve could hear the genuine glee in her voice.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m working on it.” Spider-Man was clinging to one of the walls, but now he leapt free and fell fearlessly to the ground. He landed lightly, knees bending to absorb the shock, and popped back up with a carefree wave of the hand.

“Maybe I should ask MJ to come observe. I bet your form would be perfect then.”

Spider-Man sputtered and Siren laughed. There was something easy about the way they talked to each other. They were obviously good friends. Steve leaned against the railing, feeling a deep pang. He missed that. He missed the days when the Avengers cracked jokes and snarked freely at each other. He didn’t know when that had disappeared, only that the past several months had been filled with grim faces and hostile comments.

Clearly embarrassed by the way the conversation had gone, Spider-Man unexpectedly jumped at Siren. He shot off a series of webs. Siren’s armor was built more for speed and grace than the Iron Man armor, though. She dodged with ease and then did an effortless backflip into the air that wasn’t even powered by her repulsors. She came down and dashed right at Spider-Man. He met her and they began fighting hand to hand. It was enjoyable to watch until something impossible happened.

Steve stood up straight. He knew that move. He’d only ever seen one person use that move. Suddenly, a new theory about who was behind the Siren armor flashed through his mind. The longer he stood there and watched, the more the suspicion built. He hadn’t seen Sharon since she’d given him back the shield. But she was the only person Steve could think of who would move like that. 

He pounded down the steps and into the gym. Siren and Spider-Man didn’t notice him immediately, and he was able to get all the way up behind them before Spider-Man finally realized he was there and put a stop to the sparring practice. Steve barely spared him any attention; all of his focus was on Siren. He walked right up to her, well into her personal space, and stared at the mask, wishing he could see through it.

“Sharon?” he whispered.

“Should I get Mr. Stark?” Spider-Man asked at the same time, sounding nervous.

“No,” Siren said, and Steve didn’t know who she was talking to until she patted Spider-Man’s arm. “It’s okay. Would you give us a moment?”

“Sure,” Spider-Man said. Steve didn’t need to be able to see through his mask to know that Spider-Man was glaring at him; he could feel the force of that glare, but he just didn’t care enough to acknowledge it. Waiting until Spider-Man had left the room was physically painful.

“Sharon,” he said again, relieved and pleased. He’d worried about her and the role she’d played. He’d combed through the reports and news, but nothing had come up about an Agent Carter. But that didn’t mean she hadn’t faced some kind of consequence.

“I’m not Sharon, Steve,” Siren said.

“You have to be. Sharon is the only one who would know how to fight like that.”

“Not the only one.”

The faceplate snapped up. Steve stopped breathing. He found himself staring in shock at Peggy Carter. She looked far younger than she had the last time they’d met. Her skin was soft and supple with youth, and the curls falling across her forehead were brown, not white. She stood straight and strong, not weak and confined to a bed. Her mouth was painted with that bright red lipstick she’d always favored.

“My niece learned from the best, it’s true,” Peggy admitted. “But I like to think she never surpassed me.”

Steve croaked in response and staggered back a step. “H-how?!”

“Hydra.”

That single name made Steve go cold. “But – no. You died!” It couldn’t be another situation like Bucky. It just couldn’t. He’d carried her coffin. He’d listened to that eulogy. He’d visited her grave!

“Yes, I did,” Peggy said, with far more patience than Steve had ever seen from her before. “I’m not the Peggy Carter you knew, Steve. Or at least, not the one you visited in a nursing home. I’m a clone.”

“A clone?” Steve repeated dumbly.

The armor opened up around her and Peggy stepped out as seamlessly as Tony ever had. She was wearing a pair of tight jeans and a ruffly blue blouse. It was jarring to see her dressed in clothing from the modern day. When Steve dreamt about her, she was always wearing one of those business suits she’d favored so much. It wasn’t until this very moment that he realized Peggy may have worn her suits because she had something to prove, not because she liked them.

“You must’ve realized that Hydra had more interests than just the Winter Soldier. They’ve stuck their hands into just about everything, including cloning. Why brainwash people when you can clone them? Then you can have a fully functioning copy of that person who has been under your control since day one,” she said.

It sounded eerily reasonable, and something that Hydra would do. Steve swallowed. “So you…”

“At some point, they got a hold of Peggy Carter’s D.N.A. and cloned her. It wasn’t a perfect system. I remember a lot about Peggy’s life,” Peggy went on, picking at a thread on her blouse. “But not everything, and my genetic make-up wasn’t stabilized until Dr. Cho and Dr. Ross chipped in together. I’m okay, but it was touch and go for a while.”

He could’ve lost her again without even knowing she existed. The thought was staggering. Why the hell hadn’t Tony told him about this? How could he have kept this a secret? He itched to put his hands on her, to touch her, to make sure that she was real. And he never wanted to see her go back into that armor. Remembering the situations that Siren had been a part of was chilling in a whole new way.

“Are you a prisoner here?” Steve asked suddenly. It was the only reason he could think of for why she wouldn’t have tried to contact him.

Peggy stared at him. “What? Of course not.”

“But…”

“Once I was stabilized, Pepper told me I could go. She said they would give me money to start a new life wherever I wanted,” Peggy said crisply. “I refused. I’m exactly where I want to be, helping to sort through the fucking mess that Hydra made of my organization.” Anger crept into her voice. “Tony’s given me full access to the files. I’m tracing it all back to square one. I want to know exactly when the assholes infiltrated and who was responsible for it. I need to know if I could have stopped this sooner.”

Out of everything she’d said, there was only one detail that Steve really paid attention to. “You call him Tony.” He, probably better than anyone, knew of Peggy’s habit of calling people by their last names until she knew them very well. He could still remember the thrill of delight on each rare occasion that she called him ‘Steve’ instead of ‘Rogers’.

“Well, yes. He is my godson.”

Steve jolted, stunned. “What?!”

“Tony is my godson.” And there was new fury now, seeping into her face and voice, that had nothing to do with Hydra. “You want to know why I didn’t contact you, Steve? Because I didn’t want anything to do with a man that would beat my godson black and blue and then _abandon_ him with a malfunctioning suit in the middle of Siberia. I don’t know who you are, but the Steve Rogers I knew would never have done that.”

“I… Peggy…” Steve fumbled, not sure what to say when she was so puffed up. He knew that the wrong word would make her even angrier. “I… I didn’t know that he was your godson.”

That was the wrong thing to say. Peggy visibly swelled, dark eyes flashing. “I don’t even know which part of that to address first. Perhaps the part where you didn’t know. Did you ever ask? Even once? It was no secret. Nick could have told you. Or Maria. It’s possible even Romanov or Barton knew. Certainly, Tony himself would’ve told you if you’d asked. But you didn’t, did you?”

She got into his face then, glaring at him with all her might. “Then there’s the part where you don’t even _care_ that you left him. Do you think it would’ve been okay if he weren’t my godson? What happened to ‘no man left behind’, Steve? If I recall, that’s why you went and rescued Sergeant Barnes in the first place. Does that only apply when it’s your close personal friend?!” She was shouting now.

Steve had no idea how to respond. He was flabbergasted. He’d dreamt about seeing Peggy again so many times since waking up from the ice. He’d thought about all the things he’d say to her, about their first dance together, about getting to kiss her. He’d never thought she would yell at him, and especially not over someone like Tony. He just stared back, speechless.

“My life didn’t stop after you went into the ice,” Peggy was saying. “I grew up. I married. I had two children and I had Tony. I had a whole _life_ after you with people I cared about. People I still care about.”

“I’m sorry,” Steve said, holding up his hands. “I – Peggy, he was attacking Bucky. It was the only way to make him stand down. And I admit, I shouldn’t have just left him there. I was focused on getting Bucky out and getting him the help he needed. I thought Tony would be fine.”

“But you didn’t even bother to check,” she said with disgust. “You just assumed.”

“It was a mistake.”

“A mistake that almost killed my godson!”

Distantly, Steve wondered if it would ever not be weird to hear her refer to Tony as her godson. Probably not. “It was a mistake,” he repeated. “I’m going to apologize to Tony.”

“The hell you will,” Peggy said fiercely. “You stay away from Tony.”

“Peggy?”

“I mean it. I don’t want you near him. Not until I’m sure you can be trusted, and probably not even then.”

 _That_ stung. “I wouldn’t hurt Tony!”

“You already did, Steve. That’s the problem.” Peggy turned, taking a step towards the suit. Steve impulsively grabbed her hand to stop her. He couldn’t bear to see Peggy turn away from him after everything that had happened. He’d only just barely begun to come to terms with losing her; he had to do something, anything, to fix this.

“Peggy, wait. This is all – it’s just a mess. Coming out of the ice, it was so hard. I didn’t know who to trust. You were the one thing that kept me sane. And then you passed away and I –” He was ashamed when his voice broke. 

“I think that’s the problem. I’m not a _thing_. You don’t own me. You were a brief moment in my life. Other people love me. They love me, and know me, more and better than you do.” Peggy gently extracted her hand from his grip. “This isn’t about you. It’s about me, and my godson, and the people in his life and my life that I happen to like very much. I’m happy as a New Avenger. Tony built me a new suit. It’s just for me.” Her eyes shone as she talked about the suit, and it was the same happy excitement she used to shine with when she spoke about her plans for after the war.

“I like being Siren. Things were no better after you went into the ice. I had to fight for every inch of what I got and it was still never enough. But it’s not like that now. Wasp and Captain Marvel are just a part of the team. I’m just a part of the team. No one cares that they’re woman. I love that. I want that. I _need_ that.”

“You can have it,” Steve blurted out. “I can give you that.” It stung that she thought of him as so… so unimportant.

“No you can’t. And honestly, I’m not sure I’d want to fight with you. Especially if Barnes was around. Your first concern would always be for him.”

“That’s not true,” Steve said, but he knew it was. He’d always been aware of Bucky’s presence in a room, but now it was worse. He always had to know where Bucky was and what he was doing and how he was feeling. It was starting to get on Bucky’s nerves and Steve knew that, but he still couldn’t make himself stop. Despite what everyone thought, he was self-aware enough to know that, if he and Bucky were in a fight together, Steve would constantly be distracted by making sure that Bucky was still okay.

“You always were a crappy liar,” Peggy said, but the words weren’t as fond as Steve might have hoped. She took another step away, putting more distance between them. It felt like he was losing her all over again, and Steve didn’t know how to handle that.

“Peggy, please,” he said.

“I go by Meg now, actually,” Peggy replied. “Meg Carter. Peggy Carter died last year. I think she should stay dead.” She stepped closer to the suit, her back to its front, and the suit came alive. It wrapped around Peggy like a hug, until it was only the smooth, blank face of Siren looking at him.

At least now the color scheme of the Siren armor made sense.

He wanted to say more, but Siren – no, Peggy turned and walked away. Her footsteps were barely audible even in the armor. When she got to the wall, the repulsors activated and she flew up to the second level. She landed on the walkway and kept moving. By the time Steve snapped out of his shock and ran after her, she was already gone. He ran to the door she’d gone through, but it was locked. 

Peggy was alive. That thought kept Steve going through the remainder of the session with Catherine; he barely heard a word that she said, too busy mulling over his conversation with Peggy. He kept coming back to her fury over what had happened with Tony. The conversation had gone wrong after that. Obviously Tony had spun the story in such a way as to make Steve look extremely unflattering, and Steve had been stupid to say anything about it.

She was a smart woman, though. Surely she would be able to understand that it was an honest mistake? He never would’ve left Tony there had he known that the armor wasn’t functioning. He would’ve at least sent a message to Pepper or FRIDAY letting them know where Tony was. He didn’t think it was fair for Peggy to hold that against him. He wasn’t a rocket scientist like Tony or Bruce.

The other part of the conversation that nagged at him was Peggy’s declaration about having moved on. That wasn’t fair. Steve had never even had a chance to really be with her. He’d never even gotten the chance to dance with her! Peggy had said it herself. Peggy Carter died last year. This clone, this new Peggy, was not bound by the same restrictions of the last one. She had no husband and no children. That meant this was a second chance for both of them and he was determined not to waste it.

The session with Catherine ended around 5pm. Steve’s head was aching by the time they were done. There was way too much information being thrown at him. He’d never seen so much red tape in his life, and they hadn’t even touched the Accords yet. He wearily gathered together the paperwork she’d given him to read and walked out into the hallway. Natasha was standing there. She looked about as tired as Steve felt.

“Long day?” she asked. She too had a stack of paperwork under her right arm.

“The longest in a while. I have no idea what Tony is thinking. None of this is necessary,” Steve said.

Natasha looked back at him. She frowned. “Steve, Tony had nothing to do with this. Didn’t your lawyer explain that to you?”

“Well, she said something like that, but –”

“Tony doesn’t own this building anymore, and he certainly doesn’t own the Avengers. All of this –” Natasha patted her paperwork “- was put together by the Accords Council. They’re the ones who decide how the Avengers are run. It’s no different from SHIELD, really. Orientation used to last a full week at SHIELD and everything was explained down to the letter.”

Steve hefted the paperwork in his hands. “So you’re telling me none of this is Tony’s doing,” he said skeptically. Natasha may have come to join them in Wakanda, but she’d never had the same kind of attitude towards Tony that the rest of them did. She even defended him sometimes, which hadn’t won her any points with Clint or Wanda.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. He’s still an Avenger, so he would’ve had to agree to the same rules and stipulations that we do if we want to be a part of the team.”

Something about that didn’t sit right with Steve. When had Tony ever played by the rules? No, Steve was sure that Tony had used his money to grease the wheels in some way. “I don’t believe that.”

Natasha sighed loudly. “Okay, this has to stop. Do you want to be here?”

“Yes.”

“Then you’re going to have to get over yourself. I’m sure you’ll never be assigned to Rhodes’s team, but –”

“Wait, what? Rhodes’s team?” Steve said.

“There are two sets of Avengers right now,” Natasha said, in that too-patient voice that meant she was close to slapping him upside the head. “One team headed by Rhodes, and one by Captain Marvel. If you agree to join, you’ll be assigned to a team.”

“I won’t be team leader anymore?” Steve said, upset. He didn’t remember anything about that being in the papers. He knew he wasn’t a team leader right now, but he’d assumed that once he passed all the tests and was granted the right to be an Avener again, he would become a team leader again.

“No. Most likely, you’ll be assigned to Captain Marvel’s team. But that’s still up in the air,” Natasha said. She started walking and Steve automatically followed. “I think I’m going to sign.”

“Natasha! You’d sign the Accords?” Steve was horrified. 

“I’m going to read them first, but yes. If they make sense to me,” she said. “Malcolm – that’s my lawyer – showed me how many people had signed. They’ve got over a hundred thousand signatures, Steve, including everyone from the Xavier Institute and the Defenders. A hundred thousand people can’t all be wrong. There must be something in the Accords that’s worthwhile.”

“A hundred thousand people could be fooled,” Steve argued. “You’re letting people with agendas direct what the Avengers do!”

Natasha stopped walking. They’d reached a small sitting room. Steve could see Scott, Sam, Bucky and Wanda sitting inside, but Natasha paid them no mind. She turned to face Steve, eyes blazing, and he took an instinctive step back. Supersoldier or not, there was no point in risking a knife to the gut if Natasha lost her temper. 

“Listen to me,” Natasha said, very quietly. “ _You_ had an agenda.”

“What? That’s not –”

“Shut up. You had an agenda. Your agenda was protecting Bucky. Don’t pretend that you didn’t. Your disagreement with the Accords was never about the Accords, it was about Bucky. I know you, so don’t lie to me. Furthermore, you think SHIELD didn’t have an agenda? You never had a problem working with them. But then again, SHIELD didn’t like Tony.”

“That was different,” Steve said. “The safest hands are our own. You know that!”

“That’s bullshit. We’ve killed a lot of people to get where we are. You know it and I know it. You hated the Accords for two reasons. One, because of Bucky. And two, because you somehow convinced yourself that the Accords were the brainchild of Tony Stark. They weren’t. All of you acted like Tony had a choice in signing them. He didn’t. And now we don’t either.” She half-turned to include the others in that statement.

“Secretary Ross is out of the picture. The Accords have been amended. You can sign and be an Avenger or you can choose not to sign, like Clint did, and be escorted out of the building. It’s no different from SHIELD. If I didn’t sign my contract, I didn’t get to be an agent. Simple as that. But stop pretending that you’re the martyr here, because you’re not and I am getting sick of that attitude.”

She glared around at all of them before stalking away. Steve knew better than to go after her. He entered the small room, glancing around again for any signs of Clint. Was what Natasha said true? Had Clint really been escorted from the building? Where would he go? Without Laura, Clint had nothing. He had no family. Natasha was the closest thing he had to that, and they’d been at odds lately. And he didn’t think Clint had much money either.

He sank down onto a chair and looked around. Only Sam met his gaze. Scott was flipping through some of the paperwork, looking like he was actually interested by what he was reading. Bucky was watching Wanda out of the corner of his eye. Wanda… Steve tried not to wince. She looked like a simmering pot that was ready to boil over, and as soon as she caught his eye she exploded.

“How dare they! _How dare they_!” she bellowed. 

“What?” Steve said, pulling back in surprise.

“My contract stipulates that I have to spend time at the Xavier Institute,” she spat. “I can’t be an Avenger until Xavier gives an official recommendation saying that I have my powers under control.”

“What?” Steve said indignantly. “Of course you’re an Avenger!”

“Not according to them,” Wanda said. Red light danced around her fingertips as she gestured. “This is ridiculous! Why are we letting someone else decide whether we can protect the world? We’re Avengers. We’ve all fought for and _earned_ that title.”

“Not according to this,” Sam said. “You either sign, or you’re a vigilante and they won’t like that.”

“They? They?! Why do they get to have all the power?” Wanda demanded.

Sam just looked at her. “Well, when 152 countries come together and sign something, that tends to mean they have all the power,” he said dryly. “Unless you want to move to a country that isn’t covered by the Accords, but I’d be careful. You haven’t been pardoned in all of those places, either. Some of them might want to chat with you.”

“Sam!” Steve admonished. 

“I’m just saying.” Sam shrugged. “I’m signing. I like being a superhero, and this doesn’t seem like a bad ride.”

“But they’re treating us like – like –” Steve fumbled.

“Like employees?” Scott said, looking up. “My criminal record doesn’t prevent me from joining. Do you know how hard it is to find a job with a record? I’m signing too. My contract says Pym Technologies will lease the Ant Man suit to me on an on-going basis, provided I agree to supervision by Wasp. I’m on board with that.”

“But we’re not employees. We’re heroes!” Steve said.

“Can’t we be both?” Sam said. “This pays way more than the military did.” He tapped his own, considerable stack of paperwork. “I’ll have to read the Accords, but so far I’m not seeing anything that would stop me.”

Steve stared at them in disbelief. “Don’t you care that they have an agenda? What happens if something happens in a country that didn’t sign the Accords?”

“Then we go through the proper channels,” Sam said.

“People could die!”

“People have already died,” Sam snapped. “At least this way, we’re not bringing a bunch of heat down on our heads that we can’t handle. You don’t get it, Steve. You’re _Captain America_. Do you really not understand what the rest of the world sees when they look at you?”

Steve frowned, uncertain. “What do you mean?”

“They see the United States sticking its nose in where it doesn’t belong. You literally wear the freaking stars and stripes on your unifrom, man. Come on. I know you’re smarter than that. You have to see how other countries are taking this. Right now, they see that the U.S. felt free to dress up a man, call him a superhero and give him blanket permission to cross borders and engage in battle on foreign soil. Can you really not see why people wouldn’t be comfortable with that?”

Steve squirmed a little and glanced at Bucky and Wanda. Bucky still wouldn’t meet his eyes, but Wanda did. She looked young and proud, sitting straight up in a chair. For the first time, it occurred to him that neither of those attributes might be seen as positive in the eyes of the people around him. It made him wonder what people saw when they looked at him.

“That’s not what this is about,” he said finally.

Sam snorted. “You might not think that, but I can tell you right now that other people _do_. The more I think about it, the more I realize that the Accords were probably inevitable. I’m not sure that you could’ve done anything to avoid them, and even if Stark wasn’t here they still would’ve happened.”

“What do you mean?” Wanda said.

“I meant that no one person can decide what’s best for everyone,” Sam said wearily. “Historically, it never works out well. You might think that the safest hands are your own, Steve, but that’s not the case. And if you really think that, you’re no better than the Red Skull.”

Steve snapped back as though he’d been slapped. “I can’t believe you said that to me.”

“I didn’t want to say it, but I think you needed to hear it,” Sam said quietly. “I was just as angry at Stark as the rest of you, but I’m starting to realize that anger might be a little misdirected.” He got up. “No one can make you sign. That’s your decision. But things are never going to go back to the way they were. You have to figure out how you’re going to adjust to the way things are now.And I’m telling you now that throwing a temper tantrum isn’t going to work this time.”

“I did not throw a temper tantrum,” Steve said, insulted.

“You kind of did,” Scott muttered. He winced when Steve glared at him and stood up, hastily leaving the room.

“You won’t get a pardon a second time,” Sam said loudly, pulling Steve’s attention back to him. “I hope you understand that. I don’t want to see you end up in jail.” He looked at Steve for a moment longer, then shook his head. He left too, following Scott.

Alone with only Bucky and Wanda for company, Steve felt completely wrong-footed. He remembered back to this morning and how confident and prepared they all were when they arrived at the Compound. He’d thought that they would pose a united front, and that nothing could ruin that. First Natasha, then Sam and Scott… It sounded like Clint hadn’t changed his mind, but he’d also been kicked out and that didn’t help.

Plus now there was Peggy to think about. If Steve left, he would probably never see Peggy again. He needed time to make her come around, and that wouldn’t happen unless he was here in the Compound. He also had the feeling that Peggy wouldn’t look kindly on him if Steve were to try and become a superhero outside of the Avengers. He didn’t want to sign, but…

“I can’t believe this,” Wanda said. Steve looked up at her, startled. “You’re actually thinking about it!”

She looked so upset that Steve forewent the usual admonition about her peering into people’s minds. Instead, he said, “I have to think strategically. I’m going to read this with a fine tooth comb, but… signing may be the best option I have right now.” He frowned. He didn’t like compromising. It felt too much like losing. And he couldn’t help thinking about Sharon’s passionate eulogy at Peggy’s funeral. 

_"Compromise where you can. Where you can't, don't. Even if everyone is telling you that something wrong is something right. Even if the whole world is telling you to move, it is your duty to plant yourself like a tree, look them in the eye, and say 'No, you move'."_

Those words had resonnated so strongly with Steve, and had been the driving force for many of his decisions when it came to the Accords and Bucky. Would Peggy want him to compromise? Would she think less of him if he did? He didn’t know. He realized that he needed to talk to Peggy again before he could make this decision. He had to read the documentation and then figure out a way to speak to her.

“I will never sign this piece of trash,” Wanda hissed. She fled the room, though she turned in a different direction from Sam and Scott. Steve sighed, watching her go. Once he’d made a choice, he might have to talk Wanda around. She was so young. She couldn’t understand…

“I’m not signing either,” Bucky said, the first words he’d spoken since Steve walked into the room. That wasn’t unusual. Bucky didn’t talk a lot around the others, preferring to keep his words for Steve only. Steve was okay with that; he liked having a part of Bucky that no one else had.

This, however, was not what Steve wanted to hear. He sat up straight, worried, all thoughts of telling Bucky about Peggy momentarily banished. “Is there something in your contract that’s not fair to you?!” he demanded. “What did Stark put in there?!”

Bucky blinked at him, eyebrows furrowing. “What? Nothing. It’s more than fair. More than I expected.”

Steve didn’t know if he believed that. Bucky’s perception of what he deserved was way off. “Then why?”

“Because I don’t want to be an Avenger,” Bucky said simply. “I’ve been thinking about it. I’ve had enough of fighting for right now.”

“Bucky…” Steve stared at him.

“Alice said that if I didn’t want to sign, they would help me find other work or another way to support myself. She said I wouldn’t just be left on my own to navigate the world.” Bucky cracked a tiny smile. “And that the offer to be an Avenger would always be open to me, provided I passed the right tests like everyone else. I think I want to take their offer to find something else. I don’t know what, but something. For now, anyway.”

“But Buck… I thought you wanted to make amends,” Steve said. He knew it was the wrong thing to say when Bucky stiffened and scowled.

“I do want to make amends, Stevie. You know that. But I don’t know if fighting is the way to do that. I need to get my head on straight; I don’t want to hurt anyone else.”

“You wouldn’t!”

“You don’t know that for sure. You’re the one who’s always telling me that it wasn’t my fault and I have nothing to make up for. Do you feel differently now?”

“I - of course not. I just thought being an Avenger was what you wanted.”

“It’s what you wanted,” Bucky said quietly. “You wanted us to fight together and I get that, but it’s not what I want.”

Steve was speechless. Bucky had expressed next to no opinions or desires since he’d come out of cryo and been given a new arm by Shuri. He didn’t know what to say now. He’d never expected that Bucky wouldn’t want to be an Avenger. Steve had talked about it a lot during those nights while they were waiting for the pardons to officially come through, and Bucky had never said a word otherwise. He felt blindsided.

Bucky nodded. “I’m going to take this offer.” He slapped the documents in his lap. It was a much smaller stack than what Steve had.

“I – okay,” Steve said. What else could he say? Bucky had backed him into a corner. He lowered his eyes, swallowing hard. What had happened to the strong sense of camaraderie that powered them all and carried them through the original fight with the Accords in the first place? It felt like his team was abandoning him one by one.

“Just promise me one thing,” Bucky said, watching him closely.

“What?”

“Give the Accords a chance. A _real_ chance. Don’t just immediately dismiss them because of the fight you had with Stark.”

“I don’t have much choice, do I?” Steve said. The cards had been stacked against him. Getting the pardon had felt like such a win. He’d stuck to his guns and, in the end, people had seen that he was right all along: the Accords were dangerous and Bucky was innocent. The last two years of Steve’s life had been led by those two guiding principles and knowing that people recognized that was a huge rush.

But it turned out that wasn’t the case at all. Coming here had been a mistake, he could see that now. It was true that he wouldn’t have learned about Peggy otherwise, but he’d lost the support of Natasha, Sam and Scott in the process. Even Bucky was turning away from him and the dream that Steve had had since the moment he discovered that Bucky was still alive. 

And Wanda… Steve didn’t know what she would choose to do. Wanda was so young, and she was still so angry about Pietro’s death. Even though the two had very little to do with one another, Wanda didn’t see it that way. He knew that she would see this as a betrayal since she’d been one of the ones who was most vocally against the Accords, and she would never agree to side with Tony. 

Suddenly Steve found himself wondering why Wanda had come with them at all. Had she been hoping that Tony wouldn’t be an Avenger anymore? That was unlikely. Steve didn’t have a lot of good things to say about Tony Stark, but even he had to admit that Tony was committed to being the best superhero he could be. It was just Tony’s methods and the people he’d stoop to working with that Steve adamantly opposed. Ultron was a heavy shadow that hung over them even now.

“Yes,” Bucky said, drawing Steve’s attention back to him. In the dimming light, he looked tired. “You do have a choice. You might not like your options, but you do have a choice.”

“I’m tired. I think I’m going to go lay down,” Steve said, instead of saying what he was really thinking, which was that he was positive this Accords thing would come back to bite them in the ass. He’d wanted to tell Bucky that Peggy was alive, but somehow the enjoyment of the news had passed. He wasn’t even sure that Bucky would be happy about it. He decided to keep quiet until he could see Peggy again.

Bucky’s lawyer, Alice, showed them to their rooms. Steve was irked to realize that it was a guest room instead of his former room. When pressed, Alice admitted that their personal belongings had been packed up and put into storage. They were available at any time, but Steve would not be assigned a permanent residence until he was an official Avenger – which was a process that could take weeks by the time all the tests were done and it went through all the official channels. To say that he was unimpressed was an understatement.

He sat down on the bed, ignoring the sounds of Bucky’s and Alice’s voices in the next room, and looked around. Had this been the room he was given when he emerged from the ice, he would’ve thought it was very nice, maybe even luxurious. The walls were painted pale blue, which looked good with the laminate flooring. Darker blue curtains covered the windows. The furniture was made from light wood, maybe maple or elm. The bed was decorated with dark blue sheets, which were soft to the touch.

But compared to what he’d had at Stark Tower, and his own room at the Compound, this was pretty shabby. There wasn’t even a television for him to catch up on the local news. It felt like a personal slight, even though he was certain that anyone he asked would insist that Tony hadn’t made the call when it came to decorating any of these rooms. He probably hadn’t funded any of it either. That didn’t stop Steve from wondering how much nicer Tony’s personal rooms were. 

Of course, Tony had all the money he wanted to decorate. Steve had nothing. He had _less_ than nothing. His scowl deepened as he began to look over the paperwork in more detail. At one time he would’ve been delighted by the thought of a steady salary, but now it was insulting. The Avengers had never been paid before; he didn’t like the thought of anyone putting a price on the work he did. And on top of that, he especially didn’t like that he wouldn’t even be getting his full salary. 

Reparations, Catherine had said. She’d mentioned that word a lot. Apaprently no one cared what Steve had sacrified to come this far.

He spent the rest of the night reading through his contract, the small print of the pardon, the documents that outlined life as an Avenger, insurance papers, and the Accords themselves. By the time the sun crested the horizon, he was in a much better position to negotiate. The Accords weren’t as bad as he’d feared, but he still didn’t like the amount of restrictions they placed on the Avengers.

A knock at the door made him look up, and he belatedly realized it was well after 8am. He’d intended to shower and shave, but apparently that wasn’t going to happen. He got up and walked over to the door, opening it slowly – he’d never been this off-balance in the Compound before, and he didn’t like it. But it was only Catherine, wearing a similar or the same black suit as yesterday, looking at him with a polite smile.

“Good morning,” she said politely. “Are you ready for our next session? I’ve ordered breakfast.”

“Sure,” Steve said. He hadn’t even thought about food, which was unusual for him – he never had gotten supper last night. 

She took him back to the same room as yesterday, where there was ample food for even a supersoldier. Steve ate greedily, though Catherine took only a cup of tea. She began with a brief, overarching summary of the Accords, and he had to admit that she had a good grasp of the subject. Clearly she’d read through it more than once. He regretted his brisk attitude with her yesterday, as he suspected she could’ve been a good ally.

“Let me know if you have any questions,” Catherine concluded, opening the Accords. “We can go through it line by line if you like –”

“I read it last night,” Steve said, swallowing a mouthful. “Who can I talk to if I need things changed?”

“I’m not sure what you mean,” she said.

“Well like, that paragraph about what happens if we enter a country without the appropriate regulations. I feel it’s too restrictive. I’d like that changed.”

Catherine stared at him. “Mr. Rogers, I’m afraid you’ve misunderstood. The Accords are a legal document. They can’t be changed without going through the proper channels for an official amendment, which would have to be signed off by all the appropriate people. It’s possible, of course. Several amendments have already been done, as you can see. But it’s a lengthy process, and you would need to start by drafting the amendment, sending it for review, and having appropriate documentation to prove why it’s necessary.”

“But it could be done,” Steve said.

“Well, not by you. You would have to approach your team supervisor and get their approval first.”

“And if they didn’t give it to me?”

“You could appeal to Mr. Ross or another member of the Council,” she said. “But frankly speaking, it’s extremely unlikely that any amendment you put forth would be taken seriously. You haven’t signed the Accords, and your history regarding them isn’t the best.”

Steve frowned. “You’re saying that I have to sign it first. That doesn’t sound legal.”

“It’s completely legal. If you don’t sign it, then you’ll have nothing to do with the Accords. If you do sign it, then your concerns would have greater impact.” She shuffled a few papers. “You are welcome to approach Colonel Rhodes or Captain Marvel for more information, but I will warn you that it’s unlikely you’ll receive a different answer.”

“What do you mean by greater impact?” Steve asked carefully.

“I mean that it’s more likely your proposed amendments would be taken into consideration.”

“So there’s no guarantee.”

Her mouth twitched with amusement. “I’ve been a lawyer for fifteen years. I can say with confidence that there is _never_ any guarantee with law.”

That wasn’t what he wanted to hear, but he had the sense that she was being honest. Steve took a long drink of coffee and gathered his thoughts before he said, “So what are my chances of actually having changes made?”

“Honestly? Not good. As I already said, several amendments have already been made. Your chances would’ve been better had you been here from the beginning. At this point, pretty much everyone is happy with the Accords. That’s not to say they won’t be amended at a further date if necessary, but we had over a hundred thousand signatures at last check. That’s a lot of people who are happy with them exactly the way they are. Depending on what your proposed changes are, you could meet up with a lot of pushback. You don’t have a lot of political capital to spare.”

“What if I had more than one person who wanted the changes?” Steve asked. He thought Peggy might understand some of the things he wanted done. She seemed like she was a solid part of the Avengers. If he could sway her to his side…

“It’s a possibility. You would have to seek out someone who is more familiar with the process than me,” Catherine replied. “I’m really only here to make sure you thoroughly understand your contract and the Accords.”

“I do.”

“I’ll need you to sign a waiver stating as much,” Catherine said. She slid a piece of paper across the table. Steve read it quickly and then signed it, impatient. He wanted to ask more questions, but much to his surprise Catherine stood up and began gathering her things together.

“What are you doing?” 

“I’m leaving.”

“What? Why?!”

Catherine picked up her briefcase and began putting her things into it. “You understand the offer that is on the table. You know that you either become an Avenger, or you agree to leave the Compound and forfeit your right to the Captain America name. I can’t make that choice for you. Our business is finished.”

“But I have more questions!” Steve said.

“I can submit a request to Captain Marvel. She might be willing to meet with you.” Catherine was already distracted, pulling her phone from her pocket and tapping at it. “Someone from the Council will be along shortly to give you your temporary pass to the Compound. Good day, Mr. Rogers.” She gave him a brief smile and was out of the room before Steve could do much more than draw in the breath to say her name.

The door clicked shut behind her, and Steve was left with the distinct feeling that she’d literally fled his presence. He sat back down in his chair, dropping his gaze to the documents that were still scattered across the table. When he’d said he’d understood, he hadn’t meant that he was ready to make a decision. He had so many questions, but no one was giving him the answers he wanted to hear.

He put his elbows on the table and buried his face in his hands, feeling the urge to tug his hair out. How could so much have changed within the past twenty-four hours? How could so much have changed while he was gone? It wasn’t like he’d expected the world to grind to a halt while they were hiding in Wakanda, but… but, well, he’d thought that some things might get put on hold and he would have more of an opinion in the process.

For the first time he started to realize that going against the Accords two years ago might not have been the best choice. Sure he’d made a stand at the time. He was, and always would be, proud of that. He hadn’t let anyone push him or the rest of the team, including Bucky, around. He’d stood up for the little guy. He didn’t regret telling Tony or Secretary Ross what was what.

But then he’d ended up on the run from the law, and the Accords had been pushed through in his absence without his say. He’d expected to come back to find that nothing had changed, but the world had moved on without them. Without him. He sat back and stared at the ceiling, then looked around the cramped room at the blank grey walls. It started to feel like they were closing in on him and he had no way of escaping –

And then the door opened and Coulson walked in. 

“Coulson?” Steve said, sitting up straight.

“Good morning,” Coulson said calmly, as though they spoke every day. “I’m here to issue your temporary pass.”

“I thought you were dead!” Steve said.

Coulson blinked at him for a moment, seemingly thrown by the comment, before he recovered. “Oh, yes. I suppose that information was left out of your documents. It was deemed unimportant.”

“Unimportant?” Steve echoed indignantly. He’d mourned Coulson. The Avengers had fought in his name for weeks, if not months, and his death had rattled Natasha and Clint for a lot longer. He had to wonder if they knew whether Coulson was alive, or whether that information had been kept from them too.

“For a long time the news of my survival was on a need-to-know basis,” Coulson said. He didn’t sit down, but he did set a binder on the table. “Here is your temporary pass. It will grant you access to the public parts of the Compound. That’s the guest area, the gym, the cafeteria and most outdoor spaces. I highly recommend that you not try to get into places where you’re not permitted to be. That could affect your chances of becoming an Avenger.”

“I don’t know if I want to be one,” Steve said sharply, still rattled. If he was hoping that Coulson would immediately jump to try and convince him that he had to be an Avenger, that hope died immediately.

“That’s your choice. You have fourteen days to make your decision. At that time, your temporary pass will expire and you’ll be asked to leave the premises. You can still accept the offer after that, but you’ll have to find somewhere else to stay in the meantime.” Coulson set a blue card on the table and slid it across to Steve. “This will also serve as your meal pass for the next two weeks. Three meals a day, as much as you want to eat. The times are listed in your contract. Coffee and tea are free all the time. Snacks and any other meals are on your own dime.”

“I don’t have any money,” Steve said. It wasn’t something he would’ve admitted to normally, but he wanted to see how Coulson would react. This wasn’t the Coulson that he remembered. That Coulson had… well, _fawned_ wasn’t really the right word, though it was the first word that came into Steve’s head. But the old Coulson had definitely gone out of his way to be as accomodating to Steve as he possibly could.

“Perhaps someone will lend you some.”

It was such an unsympathetic thing to say that Steve was startled. “My team doesn’t have any money either,” he said through gritted teeth. “All I have is a credit card with Tony’s name on it that doesn’t work anymore.” He’d discovered that after the pardon had been issued. He and Wanda had gone to a store to buy something – he couldn’t even remember what now. The cashier had informed Steve that the card had been canceled. He hadn’t been able to bring himself to destroy it, maybe out of some misguided hope that Tony might change his mind when they got back and reactivate it.

“I recommend cutting that card up. It’s illegal to try to use a credit card that doesn’t have your name on it.”

“Tony gave it to me!”

“But he canceled the account,” Coulson countered. “He didn’t report the card lost or stolen, but he would be well within his rights to do so.”

“He gave it to me,” Steve repeated through gritted teeth. He couldn’t ignore the pattern that was staring him in the face any longer. No matter what people said, everything eventually led back to Tony. Even winning Peggy’s favor would be a lot easier if he and Tony were friends: Peggy had made it clear that she held her godson (and didn’t that thought still make Steve cringe) in high esteem. Plus, he was convinced that Tony’s money would go a long way in greasing the wheels of just about every roadblock Steve had encountered since he set foot into the Compound.

Everything crystallized for Steve in that moment. He needed to talk to Tony. And since Tony hadn’t been around since that initial meeting when Steve and the others arrived at the Compound, that meant Steve was going to have to track him down. That was fine. It wouldn’t be the first time that he’d gone into Tony’s workshop in order to have a conversation with him, and it probably wouldn’t be the last.

“You know what, nevermind. Thanks for the pass.” He stood up and grabbed the pass off the table, sticking it into the pocket of his jeans. He strode out of the room, mentally pulling up everything he knew about the Compound. It didn’t look like any construction had been done, so that meant Tony’s workshop would probably still be located in the same place.

He found his way to that spot and found himself facing a door with one of those passkey locks on it. Annoyed, Steve swiped his card. His annoyance grew when the light flashed red, denying him entrance, before turning back to the standard green he’d noticed as he walked around. He swiped his card a second time and blew out his breath in frustration when it turned red again.

“Excuse me,” he called to a nearby agent. “Do you know why this door isn’t working?”

The agent walked over and swiped her card. The light turned blue and the door unlocked. She raised an eyebrow. “It seems to be working fine to me.”

“But it won’t let me in,” Steve said.

“Then maybe you’re not allowed in?” 

Not allowed in? That couldn’t be anything other than an insult. Tony was deliberately trying to keep him away. Steve just barely managed to keep from scowling and instead pasted on a smile. “I’m sure it’s just something wrong with my pass. I really need to get in there. Could you maybe…?”

For a split second, she looked torn. She glanced around to make sure they were alone, then swiped her card again. Steve grabbed the door and pulled it open, hastily hurrying inside. It wasn’t until the door shut behind him that he realized he’d forgotten to even thank her. He briefly contemplated opening the door to do so, but decided not to push his luck. He’d track her down later.

The corridor he was standing in was short and ended in elevator doors. Back when the Avengers were first shown the Compound, he remembered thinking how stupid it was that Tony needed a separate elevator from everyone else. At least now that was working in Steve’s favor. There was no one to see him walk over to the elevator and push the button to enter. The door opened smoothly, no passcard required, and he stepped inside. Just as he remembered, there were no buttons inside: this elevator only went to one spot.

He was feeling smug, thinking that he’d worked his way around the system, when the elevator ground to an abrupt halt. He staggered, catching himself against the wall, and looked up at the door expectantly. It didn’t open. 

“Intruder alert,” FRIDAY’s voice announced. “Please identify yourself and your reason for being here.”

FRIDAY. Steve had forgotten all about her. He should’ve known that Tony would install her in the Compound. Tony never could live without his A.I.’s. “You know who I am,” he said, annoyed.

“Please identify yourself and your reason for being here,” FRIDAY repeated.

Steve sighed. “Steven Grant Rogers. I need to talk to Tony.”

“Your name is not on the list of approved visitors,” FRIDAY said.

“What?” Steve said. He didn’t know why that surprised him. “FRIDAY, I’m an Avenger. Of course I’m on the list.”

“No, you’re not,” FRIDAY said. Steve didn’t think it was his imagination that he detected a hint of glee in her voice. “I can’t permit you to go any further. I’m placing a call to the nearest Avenger.”

Steve ground his teeth. This was bullshit. What was Tony thinking? He crossed his arms, looking speculatively at the elevator door. It probably wouldn’t be very hard to peel it back. He’d be able to scale down the elevator shaft until he got to the bottom. If he remembered correctly, the entrance to Tony’s workshop was only twenty feet away from the elevator doors. He could make it before FRIDAY enacted any other bullshit intruder protocols.

But that might play right into Tony’s plan. Tony probably expected that. He knew how stubborn Steve could be. So maybe it was better to do the opposite. He’d stand here and let whatever Avenger FRIDAY was calling come. Depending on who it was, he might even be able to convince them to escort him down to Tony’s workshop. Then FRIDAY would have no reason to keep him out.

He crossed his arms and stood silent, staring at the door, until the elevator rumbled to life around him. Instead of going down it went up, rising a lot faster than it had moved before. Steve spread his legs to keep his balance, refusing to stumble around, and kept his face a blank mask as the elevator stopped and the doors swept open. That got a little harder when when the doors opened to reveal Rhodes and Siren.

Shit. There was no way Rhodes had been the closest Avenger. That had to be deliberate on FRIDAY’S part. Steve struggled to keep his face blank. It was the first time he’d seen Rhodes since that day at the airport. Rhodes looked good: he was leaning on a cane, but still standing. He’d lost some weight, but otherwise didn’t look much different. He also looked _pissed_.

“What the hell are you doing?” Rhodes demanded.

“I need to see Tony. I figured he was hiding in his workshop,” Steve said.

Rhodes’s eyes flashed with renewed fury. “First of all, Tony isn’t hiding. He’s working. Secondly, even if he was hiding from you, he would have every right to do so considering what you did to him.”

“I didn’t do anything,” Steve said hotly, but Rhodes kept right on going.

“Thirdly, you’re not even allowed into this elevator. You were given a pass and told that you weren’t permitted into any areas your pass didn’t let you into. I know for a fact that your pass isn’t active for this elevator, so how did you get in here?!”

“Someone let me in,” Steve said. He glanced at Siren, but the faceplate wasn’t up so all Steve could see was the helmet. 

“I’m going to review the security footage and have that ‘someone’ be given a strike,” Rhodes growled. “Get out of there right now.”

Steve didn’t like the idea of obeying Rhodes’s orders, but he shuffled out of the elevator. “I need to see Tony,” he repeated.

“Too bad for you. Tony doesn’t want to see you.”

“But I need to see him,” Steve said.

“It’s not about you,” Rhodes hissed.

“Why?” Siren asked at the same time. He listened hard, but the voice modulator worked too well. It didn’t sound like Peggy; there wasn’t even a hint of her accent audible. No wonder he hadn’t figured it out before.

“I have no money. None of us do,” Steve said, figuring that honesty couldn’t hurt.

Rhodes’s jaw dropped. “You’re going to ask him for money? Seriously? After what you did?!”

“Okay,” Siren said before Steve could answer. “Rhodey, would you leave this to me? Please?”

“Fine,” Rhodes said, but he glared at Steve. “You stay the hell away from Tony, got it? You’re getting off with a verbal warning this time, for Tony’s sake. But the next time I see you sniffing around him, I’m going to put the War Machine armor on and see how _you_ like almost being murdered.”

“ _Rhodey_ ,” Siren said.

Rhodes’s glare deepened, but he pushed past Steve into the elevator without further comment. The door swished closed behind him. Steve breathed a bit easier one he was gone. He was confident that he could handle his own against War Machine. He’d taken down Iron Man with no problems, after all. But that would cause a lot of destruction and probably wouldn’t look very good to Peggy.

He turned to face the armor. “Could you take that off? I feel like I’m talking to one of Tony’s A.I.’s when you’re wearing it.”

“Why is that such a bad thing?” Peggy asked even as the faceplate slid up. She was wearing pink lipstick today. “Tony’s A.I.’s are a wonderful thing. I’m very proud of him for everything that he’s managed to create. He’s legions ahead of where even Howard imagined the future could be.”

“There’s no flying cars,” Steve pointed out.

“That depends on who you’re talking to. What are you doing, Steve? Are you trying to get kicked out?”

“No! I told you, I just wanted to see Tony. If we’re gonna be teammates, then we’re going to have to talk sooner or later,” Steve said.

“You won’t be teammates. If you become an Avenger, you’ll be assigned to Carol’s team. Tony is on Rhodey’s team. The two of you will rarely, if ever, be in the field at the same time,” Peggy said. She seemed to sense Steve’s next question because she added, “When things get switched around, I’ll be on Rhodey’s team too.”

“What?” Steve said, dismayed. “But I want to work with you!”

“I asked to be assigned to Rhodey’s team. I wanted to work with him and Tony,” Peggy said quietly. “Based on your history, there is no way Rhodey would accept you. Your choice will be Carol’s team or nothing.”

“It shouldn’t be his decision,” Steve argued. 

“It’s not. Not entirely, anyway, but he certainly has a say in it. Why would he want someone on his team who has a proven history of not listening to his orders?”

Steve flushed. “He’s never given me any orders.”

“Steve, please. Let’s not split hairs. You and I both know that if you were on Rhodey’s team, you would be constantly pushing the boundaries. You would challenge his decisions and, out in the field, would probably try to make your own instead. The Avengers are built on a foundation of trust. If he can’t trust you to be where he needs you to be, then why would he want to work with you?”

It sounded so reasonable. It also, loathe as Steve was to admit it, sounded a lot like Steve’s complaints about Tony. How many times had he complained to Natasha that Tony never followed his orders? Or that he couldn’t depend on Tony because Tony was always taking matters into his own hands? He didn’t like the comparison, even if Peggy had drawn it unconsciously. He frowned at her.

“Don’t give me that look. You know I’m right,” Peggy said. “Besides, Tony doesn’t want to work with you either.”

“And of course Tony’s wants mean more than mine.”

Peggy stiffened, visible even in the armor. Her voice grew noticably cooler. “Well yes, they do. Considering that you almost killed him, you’re fortunate that Tony hasn’t asked for you to be banned from the team. He’d be well within his rights to do so.”

“He can’t do that!”

“Yes, he could. Tony could have you arrested if he wanted to. He could have you brought up on criminal charges. A jury would convict you in a second.” 

“He attacked Bucky!”

“He attacked you,” Peggy corrected. “And then Bucky got into it, and yes Tony fought back. Anyone would. The two of you, two supersoldiers, teamed up against _one man_. Even after Tony was down, you didn’t stop.” Her eyes were angry and accusing, and Steve realized that somehow she’d seen what happened that day. Peggy had _watched_ it. He took a step back.

“How did you…?” he asked numbly.

“Zemo planned to release the footage to the world. It was his last attempt to break the Avengers. FRIDAY managed to catch it and prevent the release. Pepper showed it to me,” Peggy said. “I saw you hit him. I saw you bring that shield down onto him. I _saw_ you.”

“Peggy, I…” Steve trailed off. He didn’t know what to say. The thought that she’d seen the footage hadn’t even occurred to him. It was the first time that he could see just how deep her anger ran. He was lucky she hadn’t tried to shoot him again.

He turned away from her accusing glare and took a deep breath, needing to make her understand. “I was just trying to stand up for the little guy. You said once that we have to compromise where we can, but not where we can’t. Because even if everyone is telling you to move, it’s your duty to plant yourself and not move.”

“Don’t you _dare_ use that as an excuse,” Peggy hissed. “I said that to my niece to give her some guidance on making her way in a man’s world. You broke the law. You killed people. You wounded dozens more. The two situations are not the same. I didn’t tell you to do this!”

“I did what I thought was right!” Steve said. “People supported me!”

“Of course they did. You’re Captain America. Don’t pretend that you don’t understand exactly what kind of clout that gives you, because I know you’re lying. You completely disregarded the first part of my message. You know, that part about compromise? Did you even try? Did you even read the Accords before you threw them out the window?”

Steve opened his mouth to reply, then stopped. He couldn’t say that he had, because he hadn’t. 

Peggy looked at him in disgust. “I didn’t think so. You just got it into your head that you were right and everyone else was wrong, and you never even stopped to consider otherwise. _Compromise_ , Steve. I don’t think you even know the meaning of the word.”

“You said even if everyone was telling me I was wrong –”

“That was not blanket permission to assume you were right!” Peggy’s voice rose, taking on a shrill note. “It’s about finding out everything you can, gathering all the information, and making an informed decision. A decision that you can support with facts and evidence. Not a split-second decision that you made based on the fact that you thought your friend should come before everyone else in the world!”

“It wasn’t like that,” Steve began, but she cut him off.

“Don’t. I don’t want to hear anymore from you. I tried to be kind to you before, but you can’t take a hint. Well, fine. I’ll say it right now. I don’t want anything to do with you. You’re not the man I thought you were. I don’t even want you to be an Avenger, but that’s not my decision to make. If they ask, I’m going to tell them no. We can do it without people like you.”

That stung. Peggy was the only other person, besides Dr. Erskine, who’d seen something worthwhile in him before he became Captain America. He swallowed. “I’m sorry.”

“Shut up. Shut up! I don’t want to hear it. It’s too late for apologies, especially when I can tell you don’t even know what you’re apologizing for. You’re not sorry about Tony. You’re just sorry that I’m here calling you on it,” Peggy snapped. “If you were genuinely sorry, you’d be staying away.”

“I am sorry,” Steve protested. “But I can’t fix it if you won’t even let me see him.”

“Then don’t fix it! You can’t fix this. Congratulations, Captain America finally found something he can’t do.” Her eyes were bright with fury. “I don’t know your full history with Tony, but frankly I don’t need to. We’re done.”

She turned away and Steve reacted, grabbing her wrist again. This time, she turned and punched him as hard as she could. Steve staggered back into the wall, stunned at the force of the blow. His jaw throbbed with pain and he lifted a hand to touch it, wincing as he stared at her in shock. He’d never known the Iron Man suit to have that kind of power behind it.

“ _Don’t_ touch me,” Peggy snarled. “You will never put your hands on me or my godson again, is that clear?”

“Peggy,” Steve said, or tried to say. It came out garbled and his jaw burned. He realized she might have broken it.

“Stay away from us. Stay away from _me_. I told you Peggy Carter is dead and I meant it. Next time, I use the repulsor.” Her open hand sparked pink, giving more credence to the threat. Steve shut his mouth hastily, truly believing in that moment that she would kill him and never think twice.

The faceplate snapped back up just as the elevator door behind Steve opened. Peggy stormed past him, the footsteps of the armor heavy now, and into the elevator. The door closed and took her away. Steve stared at the door, torn between heeding Peggy’s warning and going after her one last time. If he could just make her _see_ – 

Sam walked into the hallway and whistled. “You weren’t kidding. She has a mean punch.”

Steve looked at him, dazed.

“FRIDAY called me,” Sam said, correctly interpreting the unasked question. “Said you’d need some help getting to medical. I didn’t know what she meant until I heard the end of that.” He nodded at the elevator.

“Peggy,” Steve mumbled again. Cupping his cheek enabled him to speak without too much agony. “I need to explain.”

Sam sighed. “You can’t fix this, or explain this. Not in a way that will end up with the outcome you want. It’s time to accept that you’ve burned that bridge.”

“But Peggy,” Steve said. He wouldn’t have let this happen if he’d known about her. It wasn’t fair!

“I know. It sucks. That’s just the way it is. Sometimes life sucks.” Sam got down on one knee and pulled Steve’s arm over his shoulder. He stood up with a grunt, helping Steve lurch to his feet as well. Steve winced again, realizing that his body ached from where he’d hit the wall. Sam helped him to stagger down the hall and out through the door, back into the main area. Wanda was waiting there, arms crossed.

“Oh my god,” she said when she saw Steve. “What did they do to you?”

Her concern felt good. It seemed like no one else cared. Steve wanted to put his head on her shoulder and cry. “Peggy,” he said for the third time.

Wanda looked confused. “Who?”

“Meg Carter,” Sam corrected. “Remember, she was introduced to us this morning. Steve missed that part of orientation, but he just got his own personal introduction.”

“She _hit_ you?” Wanda said, sounding horrified. “Why?”

Sam shrugged his free shoulder, and Steve couldn’t answer. Wanda stepped closer to him and cupped his cheek. Her hands flared red, easing some of the pain: she couldn’t heal, but she was good at manipulating the brain into not feeling as much of the pain. Steve sighed with relief and gave her a look of pure gratitude. At least he wouldn’t be in as much pain until the serum healed him.

“This place… I don’t think it’s safe for us here,” Wanda said. “Everything has been stacked against us since before we came.”

“That’s not true,” Sam said, but Wanda ignored him.

“I’m leaving. I spoke to Clint this morning. He’s waiting for me. Natasha and Scott don’t want to come, but I thought…” She trailed off, looking hopefully at Steve. “Is there anything left for you here?”

“Bucky?” Steve said.

Wanda bit her lip, then said reluctantly, “I talked to him. He was leaving with that lawyer of his to get set up somewhere. He said he would contact you later, but that he wanted to do things on his own. He specifically said that you should go with us if you wanted to.”

There really wasn’t anything left for him here. Steve struggled to breathe normally as the truth of that pierced him, leaving him breathless. Tony refused to see him. Peggy hated him and wouldn’t listen to anything he tried to tell her. So did Rhodes, for that matter. It was probably only a matter of time until Steve set one of them off again, but he was starting to see that any altercations would always be his fault. Wanda was right. They never should have come.

“Steve, don’t do anything stupid,” Sam said. “Come on, man. You can still be an Avenger. You can still –”

“What’s the point?” Steve whispered, a crushing wave of depression enveloping him. “You said it yourself. I’ve burnt these bridges.”

“Turning to vigilantism isn’t the answer, either. They won’t take that kindly. You’ve burnt those bridges, but you can still make something new out of it,” Sam argued. “I’ve met Carol. She’s really nice.”

Steve just shook his head and let his arm slip from around Sam’s shoulders. Wanda immediately took Sam’s place, running her hand across Steve back supportively. Sam looked between them, eyebrows creased in frustration, but he didn’t seem to know what to say. Maybe because there was nothing to say. Steve knew there was no point in asking Sam to come with them; Sam was thrilled that they were no longer on the run.

He walked away with Wanda, leaning heavily on her. She helped him outside the building. Clint was parked right out in front in a small blue car. He leapt out to help. Steve was relieved that at least he had two people he could still depend on. He let them both hustle him into the back of the car, which was cramped enough that his legs immediately began to ache again.

Clint got into the driver’s seat and Wanda’s into the passenger seat. As the car started, Steve leaned his head against the window and stared at the Compound. Twenty-four hours ago, he’d been filled with such hope and pride. He didn’t know how so much had changed in such a short amount of time. He didn’t even know how this had all happened. He half-hoped that Peggy would come out to stop them as Clint started the car and drove away, but of course that didn’t happen. No one came, and the Compound looked the same until it was swallowed up by distance.

They drove for about two hours, bypassing the city that was closest to the Compound, until they came to a small town where it was unlikely anyone would recognize them. By that point, the serum had mostly healed the damage Peggy’s punch had done. Steve’s jaw still ached when he moved his mouth, but he knew that would pass. He massaged his jaw gently, helping to loosen up the muscle, as Wanda peered into the backseat.

“Healed?” she asked.

“Getting there,” Steve said. “Pull over, Clint.”

Clint obeyed, pulling into a parking spot on the side of the street. For a long moment, the three of them sat in silence. Steve couldn’t tell what the others were thinking. Maybe they were thinking the same thing that he was: not once had it crossed his mind that he might need to make a contingency plan of some kind when the pardons came through. He’d just assumed that everything was going to go back to the way it was. Now that they needed some kind of plan, his brain was blank.

“How about a drink?” Wanda said finally. “I’m thirsty.”

“We have no money,” Steve said, not without some bitterness.

“I have a little,” Clint said. He looked very tired. Doubtless he hadn’t had a pleasant night. “Laura got most of everything in the divorce, and the rest was taken for reparations. But I had an account no one knew about it. I think I can swing some drinks.” 

Steve felt a surge of pride. Here was Clint with next to nothing, yet he was still willing to share what he had. So unlike Tony! “Okay. Let’s have a drink.”

The town only had one bar. Steve kept his head down at they entered, since he was easily the most recognizeable of the three of them, and ushered Wanda over to a small table in the corner. Clint ordered three pints of the local beer and brought them back to the table. It wasn’t what Steve would have chosen, but it was better than nothing and he sorely needed a drink by now.

“I take it Natasha, Sam and Scott didn’t want to come?” Clint said to Wanda, who shook her head.

“Natasha told me I was being foolish,” she reported, her mouth set into a thin, stubborn line. “She said I should learn to swallow my pride when I’m being offered an olive branch, and that this was likely the best offer I was going to get.”

Clint shook his head. “I don’t know what happened to her. There was a time when she would’ve fought tooth and nail against signing that damn thing. Hell, I remember when we first brought her into SHIELD. She didn’t even want to sign her SHIELD contract. She was on unofficial leave for five months before she finally gave in.”

“Meanwhile, we only had fourteen days,” Steve said sourly. 

“Two weeks! I bet Stark had a hell of a lot longer than that to come up with it,” Clint spat. “I never would’ve believed that he could pull the wool over the eyes of so many people, but I guess that’s what money gets you.”

“It was disgusting,” Wanda said. “I could see Stark’s hand in everything that they put in front of me, but no one else seemed to see it. I wish I’d just left like you did. What a waste of time.”

“No, it’s good that you didn’t. Pretending to consider a decision like that will put them off guard,” Clint told her.

“So neither of you even thought about it?” Steve asked.

Clint and Wanda exchanged looks. Then Clint said, “No. I didn’t. As soon as I found out they wanted to function like SHIELD did, I was out. Look what happened last time with SHIELD. I’ve had it with government agencies. I told them flat-out I wasn’t signing and they had me escorted out of the building. Thrown out like yesterday’s trash!” His eyes glittered with renewed anger as he drank deeply.

“At least you had the option of saying yes. I read between the lines. If Xavier never gave his approval, I was never going to even get a chance. I can’t stand the thought of my future resting in the hands of someone else. That will never happen again as long as I live,” Wanda declared passionately. “I’d rather die first.”

They both looked at Steve then, and he sighed. “I asked about making amendments to the Accords and was basically told it was impossible. It’s like they don’t even _want_ to work with us. They don’t want superheros. They want a bunch of puppets who will dance to their tune.” He nudged his empty glass with his finger, feeling a fresh swell of anger. “Bucky was the smart one. He accepted their offer to do something else.”

“Was he really?” Wanda asked, cocking her head. “To me, it still ends up in the same place. He still owes them something. That’s not a situation I’d like to be in.”

Steve nodded, conceeding the point. “But at least he’s not with the Avengers,” he said. He wasn’t sure where Bucky was now and that was deeply troubling. Part of him regretted leaving without Bucky, but it wasn’t like he’d had much choice. The thought that Bucky didn’t want to talk to him stung. A lot. He’d have to call Bucky later to make sure that was what Bucky really wanted, and not what someone else had put into his head.

“The real question is, what can we do about this?” Clint asked.

“Nothing, as far as I see it. We have very little money, no connections and no power,” Steve said. 

“That’s not necessarily true. There’s T’Challa,” Clint said.

“Didn’t he pretty much say he was wiping his hands with us when we left?” Wanda said.

Clint shrugged. “Yeah but that was before we found out what a farce the Accords are. He might’ve changed his tune. Maybe he’d be willing to give us some money, or at least some weapons so that we can keep doing what we’re good at.”

“You think he would?” Steve asked, feeling a flutter of hope. He saw the same hope reflected in Wanda’s face.

“I don’t see why not. Look, sooner or later the Accords will blow up in everyone’s faces. Something will happen that doesn’t fall under their jurisdiction and a bunch of people will die, and then everyone will sit around blaming each other. The three of us might be able to prevent that from happening wih the right tools. We could be there when the Avengers can’t.” Clint leaned forward eagerly. “Think about making Stark eat his words. If we can _prove_ that the Avengers need to function freely and not be restricted, it could go a long way towards getting rid of the Accords for good.”

Wanda was smiling. “I think it’s worth at least asking. The worst T’Challa will do is say no.” She looked expectantly at Steve. So did Clint.

Steve thought about it for a moment. What Clint was saying made a lot of sense. He could picture it now: something going wrong that the Avengers couldn’t or wouldn’t respond to. It would make all the difference in the world if three other superheros who weren’t restricted by the Accords popped up to deal with the problem. That would be something real, a stark contrast that no one would be able to deny. 

Catherine had mentioned that vigilantism would be punished severely, but Steve didn’t really think that was true. They were superheros! They were trying to protect people! You couldn’t punish someone for that. He’d learned a long time ago that, if you were saving lives, there was a lot that people would let you get away with. And if by doing this they got the Accords abolished, then there would be nothing to punish Steve, Clint or Wanda with. 

He smiled too. “It’s a great idea and the only one we’ve got. Let me put a call through to T’Challa and see what he says. We’ll definitely need his help.”

“I’ll get another round of drinks,” Clint said. 

“Get some food too. I’m hungry,” Wanda said. Clint saluted her and got up. Steve stood too, pulling the cell phone that T’Challa had given him out of his pocket. It wasn’t a Starkphone, but something more generic – he actually wasn’t sure what brand it was. All he really cared about was that it worked and he didn’t have to foot the bill for it right now.

He walked outside, peering at the contacts list. There were a handful of numbers pre-programmed into the phone: Natasha, Sam, Scott, Clint, Wanda and Bucky had all recieved phones as well. T'Challa had also included himself in that list. Bucky's phone, Steve knew, also had a direct line to Shuri, and Sam had the number of a few of the Dora Milaje that he'd flirted with frequently. Steve selected T'Challa's number and called it, hoping that the king would be open to their request. T'Challa had been alternately friendly and cool towards them, so it was hard to know what kind of mood he would be in.

"Good evening," T'Challa said. Steve snapped to attention.

"Hello, your highness. It's Steve Rogers calling," Steve said, momentarily distracted by imagining how beautiful the sun must look setting in Wakanda. For a moment he felt a pang of wistfulness, and he wished that they had never left. It was funny: while they'd lived in Wakanda, he'd missed New York with a passion. But now he longed for the simplicity of life in Wakanda. There had been fewer arguments, and he'd gotten used to waking up in the morning and spending his hours however he wanted with no one to tell him otherwise. 

"Hello, Mr. Rogers," T'Challa said. "I must admit, I am surprised that you are contacting me so soon. I thought that you would all be preoccupied with the details of your return home. Is everything well with Mr. Barnes?"

"Bucky is fine as far as I know," Steve said quickly. It was T'Challa's guilt over what he'd done to Bucky that had allowed Steve and the others to live off of T'Challa's generosity. He didn't want to take advantage of that, but he thought it was necessary. He thought quickly, trying to figure out the best way to phrase his request. Obviously he couldn't come right out and tell T'Challa that he, Wanda and Clint had left the Compound and decided not to sign the Accords. He didn't think T'Challa would take that well. He didn't want to outright lie, so maybe the best answer was somewhere in between.

"Then please enlighten me as to why you're calling." T'Challa sounded pleasant enough, but there was a thin band of steel in his voice that Steve had grown familiar with. He was testing the King's patience.

"About that..." Steve said, making a split second decision. "We weren't welcomed back to New York quite as warmly as I would have hoped. It seems that some of us won't be granted adequete weapons to use in the field right away, and you can see how that would present a problem. My shield wasn't even mentioned during my debriefing." That wasn't really a lie. Catherine hadn't brought it up, and Steve hadn't thought to ask. "I was hoping that you might be able to fill in the gap."

T'Challa was quiet for a few seconds. "Could you not ask Mr. Stark for some weapons?"

"No. Tony wouldn't give me anything," Steve said flatly. "And anything else that we ask for has to go through a long chain of command. We have to fill out forms, get approvals, wait for the items to be created, go through testing... I'm concerned that something will happen before that point, and I won't be able to help. Clint is having the same issue. All he's working with right now is the bow that he brought with him, and he's been having issues with it for quite a while now. And while I can fight without my shield, I'm not nearly as effective in the field."

"Why only you and Mr. Barton?"

Steve was ready for that. "Natasha doesn't really fight with weapons. She uses knives and guns, which can be bought anywhere. The technology that Scott and Sam use is special; Scott was granted access to the Ant-Man suit by Pym Technologies on an on-going basis, and I assume something similar was worked out for Sam. Wanda doesn't use weapons either. Bucky is like Natasha. But Clint and I are different. He needs a bow that is specifically calibrated to him, preferably one with improved arrows. As for me, most people don't fight with a shield, so it's not something I can walk into any store and pick up off the shelf."

He waited, listening to the silence on the other end of the line, and decided to push a little more. "I really hate to ask. You've done so much for us already. I'm just... I'm worried about Bucky more than anything else. If he went out into the field and something happened and I wasn't there to help him just because I didn't have a shield to fight with, I would never forgive myself."

It was a dirty trick to play, considering that Bucky had flat-out said he would not be joining the Avengers because he was tired of fighting. But, Steve reasoned, it wasn't like Bucky might not end up in the field anyway. He knew what his best friend was like: if something happened, Bucky would feel obligated to pitch in and help out as best he could. That was the honorable, good kind of person that Bucky was. The rest of what Steve had said was the truth. He really would never forgive himself if something happened to Bucky, but it would be Tony who would feel the bulk of Steve's regret and rage because this was Tony's fault.

After a long silence, T'Challa finally spoke. "Very well. Your concerns have merit, and I'm disappointed but not surprised that the process to making you an Avenger and outfitting you for the field takes as long as it does."

Steve relaxed, filled with a rush of gratitude for their powerful ally. "I had the same disappointment, your highness. My best guess is that it would take upwards of three to six months, and in my opinion that is much too long." That wasn't a lie either, technically. Based on the timeline Catherine had laid out for him, by the time Steve had gone through their tests and gotten all the approvals they wanted him to get in order for him to become an Avenger again, it would've been close to half a year. That was much too long in Steve's opinion.

That was yet another reason why this was a good plan, though. Steve was excellent at picking out new members for the Avengers. All he needed to do was look at how well Wanda and Sam and Scott had turned out to know that was the truth. He didn't need someone else telling him who would be a good fit for his team when he was perfectly capable of doing that himself. They needed to do away with all this nonsense of tests and approvals, because everyone knew that the true test was in how someone worked in the field and how well they meshed with the team, and go back to the days where his word was the final say on whether or not someone was an Avenger. 

"That is a lengthy amount of time." T'Challa paused again. "Very well. I believe my sister was working on some inventions before you departed. I will ask her how far along she is. If the weapons are not ready, I'm sure that it will not take her long to finish them. Shall I send them along to the Compound?"

"No," Steve said hastily. "I would prefer you didn't. The Council wouldn't approve, you know. Based on what I've learned, I think they would want to have the weapons removed for inspection and that would defeat the whole purpose. No, I think it would be better if you had them sent to a post office box. I have plans to get one tomorrow. Would it be alright if I text you the address?"

"That will be fine," T'Challa said. "You said everything is well with Mr. Barnes? He doesn't need anything?"

It was so nice having someone else who was just as concerned for Bucky as Steve was. He loved it. He wondered how far he could push T'Challa in Bucky's name. Maybe just a little more. "There is the small matter of money, your majesty. Although most of our needs are met by the Compound, they won't pay for things like clothing or toiletries. And our salary as Avengers won't kick in until we're deemed ready for active duty. They need to do a lot of tests on Bucky first, so it could be some time until we have a source of income. I don't suppose...?"

"I understand. I will see what I can do," T'Challa said. He didn't make an outright offer, but Steve didn't feel right about pushing anymore. T'Challa's generosity would only extend so far, and the last thing he wanted to do was make T'Challa angry.

"We appreciate it," Steve said, meaning it. "Thank you so much. Good night."

"Good night."

They hung up. Steve leaned back against the wall and breathed a sigh of relief, feeling hopeful again. The conversation couldn't have gone better. T'Challa had believed everything Steve said. Why wouldn't he? Nothing had been an outright lie. Sure he'd led T'Challa to believe that he, Wanda and Clint were still at the Compound, and that Bucky would be joining the Avengers - but he hadn't outright stated any of those things either. And the three of them really were working to become Avengers again. They just weren't doing it the way that the Accords Council wanted them to.

Flush with success, he walked back inside and made his way over to Clint and Wanda. Steve seized his newly filled flass and raised it. "A toast," he declared, fighting a grin. "To having powerful friends who are generous with their money and equipment."

"He went for it?" Clint said excitedly.

"Yup. I think I even swayed him to give us some money." Steve beamed and sat down. "He didn't say for sure, but he was definitely open to the idea."

"Thank god," Wanda said. "Clint was just talking about sleeping in the car." She stuck her tongue out at Clint.

“It’s not like I asked you to sleep outside,” Clint said, rolling his eyes, but he was smiling. All three of them were giddy with relief. Things had seemed hopeless after leaving the Compound, but now they had a plan and someone on their side to help them see it through. 

Once they had their weapons and were properly outfitted, all they’d need to do was wait for the right event. Steve was positive that it was only a matter of time. More and more supervillains had been popping out of the woodwork lately. By the end of the year, the Avengers could very well be back to the way they used to be. He’d be the leader again, and his first act would be to remove Iron Man and War Machine from the team. He could hardly wait.

They celebrated with greasy food and more beer. It wasn’t long before Clint could barely hold his glass up because he was so drunk. Even Wanda was buzzed; she kept looking over their heads with misty eyes, and twice Steve had glanced up in time to see swirling red lights evaporating above his head. The third time it happened, he made the executive decision that it was time to leave.

He hustled Clint and Wanda out of the bar with some effort, thankful that the serum didn’t allow him to get drunk. The idea of sleeping in the cramped car was not appealing, so he borrowed a little of Clint’s money to rent them a room at the town’s only Bed and Breakfast. He laid Wanda and Clint in the bed and then settled down on the couch by himself. 

The next several days followed a similar pattern. None of them had any friends or family to reach out to. Clint briefly entertained the idea of reaching out to Laura, but he gave up after realizing that he had no idea where she or the children were. Laura had been granted full custody, since Clint was a wanted fugitive at the time, and she’d promptly taken the children and disappeared. Steve suspected she’d used Tony’s money and connections to do it, though of course he couldn’t prove it.

Wanda had actually been offered a job at the corner store while she was in there browsing one day. She’d immediately rejected the offer, and repeatedly told Steve how amusing she thought it was. Steve had to agree. Their work as superheros was far more important, and he was still holding out hope that T’Challa would be sending them money. There was no point in Wanda wasting time working for it.

Steve himself spent the time watching a lot of television, tracking the activities of the New Avengers. He had yet to see Natasha, Sam or Scott in the field, but that wasn’t surprising: all three of them were probably still undergoing those ridiculous tests. It was galling to see Iron Man, War Machine, Wasp, Captain Marvel, Dr. Strange and Spider-Man out in the field together, and he wondered when the split into two teams would happen. Not that it mattered: he didn’t think they fought together nearly as well as Steve’s team had.

On a quiet morning, when Wanda and Clint were preoccupied, Steve tried to call Bucky. He called at least a dozen times, leaving several voicemails, growing more worried with each passing minute. Wanda said that Bucky had said he would contact Steve, and he hadn’t. That wasn’t like Bucky. It was a full, tense five hours before Bucky responded, and even then the conversation was terse:

“Bucky! Oh thank god, I thought –”

“I told the witch I need some time.”

“Yes, she said, but I was worried about you. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Bucky sighed heavily. “I meant what I said. I need time to get adjusted. I’ll contact you later. Please don’t call me again, Stevie.”

And then he hung up. Steve was left to stare at the phone, wondering why on earth Bucky had been so short with him. It was just like Bucky going into the cryo chamber all over again. Out of worry for Bucky, he asked Wanda to track Bucky down with her powers and make sure Bucky was okay. Wanda did as he asked, reaching out with her powers until she found him. She informed Steve that Bucky seemed fine, and Steve had to take her at her word because he had no way of finding Bucky and no way of getting to Bucky even if he did know where Bucky was.

It was a frustrating situation with no easy answer, since Bucky refused to answer the phone the handful of times that Steve did give in and call him. Steve was better at keeping his temper than either Wanda or Clint, though. He took to running a lot since there was no gym handy, but you couldn’t talk to Clint without getting snapped at. Wanda started spending a lot of time taking baths, and Steve noticed, just from what he overheard, that there was a sharp upswing in nightmares in the town.

They couldn’t have kept up the waiting forever. Fortunately, after three weeks, there was a little bit of a reprieve. A package showed up at the post office in the next town over, where Steve had rented a PO box. All three of them went together to pick it up. It was sizeable enough that Steve had to pick it up, and even he staggered a bit in surprise at its considerable weight. The clerk eyed them curiously.

“Grandma’s cookies,” Clint said with a crooked smile, nudging Steve in the shoulder. Steve took the hint and quickly walked outside. He loaded the package into the trunk of the car, knowing better than to open it in the middle of the parking lot. There was no telling who might be watching. When they got back to their room, he carried the package inside and set it down on the floor. 

“Can I open it?” Wanda asked, almost vibrating with excitement. Steve and Clint exchanged fond smiles, and Steve nodded at her. She was like a child at Christmas, throwing herself at the box and tearing into it.

“It’s from T’Challa,” Clint said, sounding relieved. He caught Steve’s eye, and Steve knew that, until this moment, both of them had privately wondered if T’Challa was going to come through. There was always the chance that the king would change his mind.

Wanda pulled out the shield first – or at least, Steve thought it was a shield. It wasn’t round, but more of a triangular shape, and attached to a wrist guard. He slid it on, looking the shield over, while Clint and Wanda watched him. It was lighter than he’d expected, and he wondered how it would hold up in a battle until his index finger pressed a hidden button. The low hum of energy made the hair on the back of his neck stand up; the rest of the shield formed as a glowing blue disc.

“Cool,” Wanda said, leaning forward. “You’ll be able to do some real damage with that, Steve.”

“Yeah,” Steve said. He couldn’t have said why, but the shield was a little disappointing. He realized then that he’d been hoping for another vibranium shield. But then again, he supposed that was unlikely: Wakanda was notoriously protective of their vibranium deposits, and giving Steve another shield would’ve been like announcing their resource to the world.

Clint leaned over the box and pulled out a bow. His smile was appreciative as he hefted it, easily drawing back the string. “Wow, this comes outfitted with a long distance scope,” he said, sounding impressed.

“Will it work for you?” Steve asked.

“It should, but I’ll have to do some tests to be sure,” Clint said. He released the string and then pulled it back again, this time looking out the window.

“There are some arrows in here too,” Wanda said. She lifted out two clutches of arrows. There was a note attached. “One set are explosive arrows and can’t be replaced. The other set are normal, but with especially sharp and durable tips.”

“Very nice,” Clint said with a nod. “At least I can trust these not to blow up in my face.”

That was a little unfair, Steve thought. Tony’s tech had never failed them – had never failed _anyone_ , not that Steve knew of. It was the one thing about Tony that you could depend on. But then again, considering Tony’s recent attitude towards them, he couldn’t blame Clint for being wary of any Stark Industries product. It was hard to know whether Tony would be professional or not.

And at any rate, the products from Shuri seemed to be just as good as, if not better, than what Tony could produce. Certainly Tony had never offered to create an energy shield. Steve moved his arm, immediately realizing one benefit of the new shield: it was a hell of a lot lighter than the vibranium shield had been. Serum or not, this would weigh Steve down a lot less.

“That’s it,” Wanda said, sounding a little disappointed. “He didn’t send me anything.”

“I’m sorry,” Steve said. “I had to make it sound like Clint and I needed weapons for the field and that the Accords Council wasn’t properly outfitting us. You don’t really fight with weapons.” It made sense, but he still felt guilty when Wanda nodded and put on a brave smile. He should’ve told T’Challa that they needed new uniforms, too.

“Hey wait, what’s that?” Clint stooped down and picked up an envelope, nearly missed amongst the paper. He opened it and a credit card fell out along with a note. He read, “Captain Rogers, I hope you will find your new equipment to be sufficient. This card has been pre-loaded with $50,000 US dollars. It should be more than enough to cover all of your needs.”

“$50,000,” Steve repeated slowly. “I was hoping for a little more.” It sounded like a lot of money, but it really wasn’t. The three of them had no other funding. And if they ended up needing to fly somewhere to get to a disaster, that would take up a fairly large chunk of money right there. Without the quinjet, they were restricted to commercial airplanes.

That made him pause, and he finally realized the biggest flaw in their plan. The New Avengers had the quinjet, plus several of their members could fly. Dr. Strange could open up a portal to take him anywhere in the world in the blink of an eye. How could they compete against that? Any problem that was bad enough for the Avengers to be called in for generally meant that commercial flights were grounded because of safety issues. And even if they weren’t, they would so _slow_. Everything would be over if it took him, Wanda and Clint eight hours to get there!

“What’s wrong, Steve?” Wanda asked, sitting up on her haunches. 

“It just occurred to me that this is going to be harder than I realized. Without a jet, our options are pretty limited. The Avengers have free reign in the United States. We need something that happens on foreign soil,” Steve said. “And if that happens, it’ll take us forever to get there.”

“Too bad your powers don’t include seeing the future,” Clint said to Wanda. “I hadn’t thought about that. Damn.”

“I did,” Wanda said. “I might have a solution.”

“What?” Steve said.

Wanda shrugged. “We could make something happen.”

Clint pocketed the credit card and frowned. “Wait, you mean like create our own disaster? Wanda, the whole point of being an Avenger is stop stuff like that from happening. Not to encourage it.”

“I know that. Obviously we would make sure that no one was hurt. All we need to do is attack a small town. Round people up and put on a show. There wouldn’t even have to be much property damage,” Wanda said with a shrug. “If we choose a country where the Avengers aren’t allowed to be, even better. It’ll take them forever to get clearance and, in the mean time, we can show up and look like heroes.”

“That doesn’t sound like a very good idea,” Steve said doubtfully. “There’s a lot of chance for things to go wrong and for innocent people to get hurt.”

“Not if we plan things right,” Wanda said, lifting her chin. “I’ve been thinking about it for the last couple of weeks. I mean, come on. We’ve been sitting around on our asses waiting for something to happen. And you said it yourself, Steve. Short of stealing another jet, I really don’t see another way around this. I’m open to suggestions if you have any.” She looked around with an expectant expression.

Steve avoided her gaze. Much as he wanted to give her a decent answer, he couldn’t. She was right, and he couldn’t believe he’d missed such a glaring issue before now. The quinjet had always been available to them before. Tony had never kicked up a fuss when any of them wanted to borrow it; Steve had used the quinjet every time he went searching for Bucky. Even Natasha and Clint had used it a couple of times for SHIELD missions. It had just never really occurred to him that this time, it wasn’t.

“You’d have to make sure no one was hurt,” Clint said hesitantly.

“Clint!” Steve said.

“What? She has a point. You might not want to admit it, but…” Clint shrugged. “Is this any different from all of those training missions that SHIELD had us do? Sometimes they put people in danger for those. Real people, I mean. Coulson used to say it was the only way we would learn. If SHIELD thought it was okay, then I don’t see why we can’t think that way.”

“It is different,” Steve said, though he was having a hard time thinking of why. He stared at the shield for several seconds. The low hum had set his teeth on edge at first, but he was quickly growing used to it. He had to admit that he really wanted to see what the shield was like out on the field. He was sick of sitting around. He wanted to get back to being a superhero.

But putting people in danger just for the sake of proving their worth didn’t sound like a great idea. Unfortunately, he was hard-pressed to come up with anything different. What were the chances that he, Wanda and Clint would just happen to be nearby when something happened in a country that hadn’t signed the Accords? Incredibly unlikely, cosidering that they were sitting in the United States. That was stupid. 

He switched the shield off and slid off the arm guard. “Let’s get to Europe first,” he said, still not looking at either one of them. “We can decide what we want to do then, but there’s no point in waiting for anything to happen on American soil.”

“Do you think T’Challa would send a plane for us?” Wanda asked.

“I don’t know. Probably not. I don’t think we should ask. It would be better if we could leave the country without anyone knowing,” said Steve.

“That’s going to be pretty hard,” she said.

“Leave it to me. I know a few people,” Clint said. “I can get us new passports under assumed names in less than a week.” He patted his pocket, and Steve realized they were going to lose a big chunk of that $50,000 to this. 

But frankly, he wasn’t sure there was any other way. There hadn’t been anything in the pardon or his contract about international travel, but Steve was positive their passports had been flagged. If they tried to use them to fly out of the country, they would probably be detained at the airport. That would draw a lot of unwanted attention, especially if they were questioned about why they were leaving.

He nodded at Clint. “Go ahead and see what you can do. Just don’t get yourself into any trouble.”

Clint smirked. “You mean more trouble than we’re already in?” he asked, gently setting his bow down on the bed. He tossed off a salute in Steve’s direction and walked out of the room, already pulling his phone out of his pocket. Steve watched him go and shook his head. No matter what kind of situation they were in, Clint never seemed to lose that incorrigible attitude.

Wanda got up off the floor and walked over to him. She put a hand on Steve’s arm. “This isn’t something I take lightly,” she said quietly. “I know you think I’m a kid who doesn’t understand the risks, but I do. I just… I want something _more_ for us. I don’t want to spend my life hiding in motel rooms and watching other people live the life I want to live. I want to be an Avenger. You promised me that.”

She was right. He had promised her that. Steve could remember that day very clearly. It was not long after Ultron had finally been destroyed, late one night when he’d stumbled across Wanda privately mourning her brother. Steve had sat beside her and promised her that life as an Avenger would be so much better than anything she’d had before. And it had been, for a few precious months, until Tony pulled the rug out from underneath all of them.

“I just don’t want to make the wrong choice. I feel like that’s all I’ve been doing since I woke up from the ice and I’m tired of it,” Steve whispered.

She stepped back, hurt flashing across her face. “Are you saying that your decision to let me join the team was a bad one?”

“No! No, Wanda, that’s not what I meant. Asking you to become an Avenger was one of the few good decisions I’ve made in the past couple years. It’s just…” Steve shook his head. He honestly didn’t know what was holding him back at this point. He just felt so muddled and confused. He missed the days where the path forward was clear.

“I understand. I’ve hurt enough people. I don’t want to hurt anymore,” Wanda said, smiling bravely. “I want to protect people. I want my chance to protect people. Stark and the Accords have taken that away. But I really think that if we can show the world that the Accords keep the Avengers from doing what we were meant to do, it’ll go a long way towards making everything okay again.”

“I want that too,” Steve admitted. “I miss being an Avenger.” He’d never thought more clearly than when he was out on a battlefield. That was something else that he missed with a passion. He wasn’t built for this sedentary, appallingly normal life. It was aggravating to think that no one had given that a second thought they were putting the Accords and contracts together. Didn’t Steve’s needs count for anything?

“Then let’s _be_ Avengers! Let’s not sit around and wait for fate to make an opportunity fall into our laps. If we plan this right, I know we can pull it off.”

Steve sighed. She was very convincing. “What were you thinking?”

Wanda grinned. “There are some small towns that I think will work very well for what we want. They’re secluded and there’s nothing valuable around them. We can round up all the people and put them somewhere safe under the guise of taking them hostage. Maybe set one or two free to alert the authorities. We can either use an illusion, or if you want I can manipulate some Hydra agents into doing everything for us. I think that’s the best plan, personally.” The familiar red light crawled around her hands when she wiggled her fingers meaningfully.

“Then, when everyone is good and scared, we set off a couple of harmless explosions. We wait for the local police to arrive and let them realize they can’t handle the matter on their own. Then boom! The three of us arrive on scene and swiftly and harmlessly overcome the Hydra agents before the New Avengers even have the chance to know something is happening.”

Laid out like that the plan did sound pretty simple, but Steve still had some reservations. “What about the people we’re going to terrify for no reason?”

“I can make them forget,” Wanda said confidently. “They won’t have to remember anything. The incident can fade from their minds like it never happened.”

“And the Hydra agents?”

She shrugged. “They take the blame for everything and end up in jail where they belong. Let’s face it, no one would listen to them even if they did try to say they were being controlled. I mean, it’s Hydra. You can’t trust anyone who works for them. Everyone knows that.”

“You’ve been putting a lot of thought into this,” Steve said, watching her closely.

Wanda met his gaze without flinching. “Like I said. I refuse to miss out on my chance to actually do the right thing. I want to be an Avenger and nothing is going to stop me.”

He had to admire her determination. “Okay. If we can work out a plan that we’re all in agreement with, I think that this might be our best bet. But!” He held up a hand to forestall her celebration. “We have to make sure that we don’t get caught and that no one gets hurt. This can’t be another Lagos.”

Her expression grew somber, and she nodded. “I promise. I’ve been practicing on controlling my magic. I’m really good at manipulating people’s minds.”

A small part of Steve wondered exactly how she’d been practicing, but he decided not to ask. Sometimes Wanda got upset when he and Clint pressed her for answers about how her powers worked, and he thought that was fair enough: if the serum had come from Hydra or an alien source, he wasn’t sure he’d want to be asked questions about it either. The town they were in was close to the woods, so he figured she’d been practicing on animals.

"Okay," Steve said, hardly able to believe that he was agreeing to this. "If we can plan out the details so that all three of us are comfortable with it... okay." 

"I knew you'd come around," Wanda said. She took out her phone. "Clint and I have been hammering out some of the details, but we could certainly use your opinion."

Leaning over shoulder, Steve saw that she wasn't kidding. Her phone was filled with notes upon notes. She and Clint really had been doing a lot of research. They'd figured out what countries hadn't signed the Accords and had slowly been eliminating them based on location, population, weather, proximity to known or suspected Hydra bases, and ease of entry. That left a handful of countries, each with one or two towns beside the name. Steve scrolled through it, skimming the information quickly, and immediately crossed off any countries in Africa.

"That's just asking for trouble. Ever since they came out to the world, T'Challa has started protecting countries that border Wakanda. It wouldn't surprise me if he eventually branches out to most of the continent, especially for something like this. And if T'Challa shows up, we're screwed," he explained to Wanda's questioning face. "We have to choose somewhere that isn’t close enough for anyone to respond to.”

"I'd eliminated some countries just based on that, but I didn't think about T'Challa. That would defeat the whole purpose if he shows us up," Wanda said, frowning. "Okay. That leaves a few places in Europe, Asia and South America."

"South America is too close to the New Avengers."

"But the whole point is to do this in a country they can't get into anyway."

Steve nodded. "I know. But I would still feel more comfortable in Asia or Europe. At least then they'd be anywhere from a twelve to fourteen plane ride away. That gives us time to get everything into motion, and maybe even time to get our part started before the Avengers even get there. Provided, of course, they don't use Strange's powers." He scowled at that. Strange could definitely be a thorn in the whole plan. They would just have to hope that the Accords covered magic, and meant that Strange either wouldn't be allowed to or couldn't do anything from afar.

"Makes sense. Okay, Europe or Asia it is. That leaves us roughly twenty countries to choose from."

That was still a lot. He and Wanda worked together for the next two hours, slowly eliminating countries, until they were left with the perfect one. The country had not signed the Accords and had outright stated that they had no intention of signing because of fears about American interference. Reading that particular news article was hard. It brought to mind what Sam had said about people outside of the United States being uncomfortable with the idea of Captain America. Steve had never really thought about it like that. As Captain America, he wanted to do what was best for everyone.

He moved on, putting those thoughts out of his head and turning his attention to the town that Wanda had picked out. He wasn't surprised to find that she'd chosen perfectly. The town was isolated, populated by about five thousand people, and about fifty miles away from the border, so it would be fairly easy for them to get to. Best of all, the town was rumored to be near a gold mine. No one had ever substantiated the rumors, but he thought it was a good cover for why Hydra would try to take control of the town. 

There was just one potential flaw. He turned to Wanda. "Are you sure you can control five thousand people, plus the Hydra agents?"

"It'll be a strain," Wanda admitted. "I've never stretched my power so thin. But I think I can do it. Worst case scenario, we'll have the Hydra agents release some sleeping gas. It'll knock people out and then I can focus on the ones who remain awake."

"Let's leave that for a worst case scenario. You never know how someone might react to gas like that." Steve set the phone aside and stretched. He and Wanda had been working for at least four hours and he was getting that antsy feeling that meant he needed to get up and move. He'd never been very good at sitting in one place, even when he was a shrimp.

"How about some supper?" Wanda suggested and Steve grinned.

Clint didn't come back for the next three days. Steve tried not to be too worried. He knew from experience with Natasha that getting things like fake identities set up weren't always easy. He and Wanda spent the time well, figuring out the finer details of their plan. They decided that their first trip would be to a Hydra base so that Wanda could take control of fifteen to twenty agents. Rather than taking the agents captive, Wanda could plant the desire to take a plane ride into their subconscious. Then all they had to do was stand back and wait for the agents to meet them at their destination.

But of course, to do that they needed their new passports. So Steve was pleased when he woke up on the fourth morning to hear the shower going and Clint's high-pitched rendition of "Blank Space" ringing above the sound of the water. Wanda was noticeably less pleased; she rolled over and buried her head underneath the pillow. Steve saw her fingers glow red. Seconds later, the singing abruptly stopped as Clint let out a loud yelp. It was hard to argue with the way that she got results.

"Ice cold water is not cool, Wanda," Clint said, walking into the room moments later. Or at least, it sounded like Clint. The guy standing in their room looked nothing like him. He was old and fat, with greying hair. Wanda screamed and scrambled out of the bed as Steve leapt up.

"Who the hell are you?" he demanded.

"Whoa, Cap! Calm yourself. It's me," The man fiddled with something on his wrist. Then suddenly, Clint was standing before them. He grinned at Steve. "What, don't like the sight of Marvin Smith?"

"How did you do that?" Wanda said, amazed.

"It's just a hologram. It makes people see whatever you want them to see. My friend had a few on hand that he gave me, for an extra price." Clint grimaced. "I'm afraid that all we've got left of our funds is $12,000."

"You spent $38,000?!" Steve gasped.

"Well worth it, I swear. We now have three foolproof passports and hologram watches that have even fooled SHIELD agents. Believe me, it's a lot better than relying on a hoodie and baseball cap to keep from being noticed."

"Couldn't we have just dyed your hair?" Wanda said.

"Yeah, sure, that works unless someone from the Accords Council is watching for us. Two men travelling with a young woman isn't that unusual, but I didn't want to take the chance. Now people are going to see an older man and older woman traveling with their grandson." Clint crossed the room and dug into his bag. He pulled out three passports and gave them to Steve, who flipped through them.

The first passport was for Marvin Smith, and the photo looked identical to the hologram. The second was for an Evelyn Smith. The picture was of an older woman, probably in her early seventies, with grey hair and a lot more wrinkles than Wanda had. The third passport was for Jason Smith, a man several years younger than Steve, but with a similar build. Steve figured the reasoning behind that was because a hologram could only fool the eyes: if his hologram was of a skinny kid and someone brushed up against him, they would notice the inconsistency.

"I don't want to be old," Wanda whined. "Why can't I just use my powers to make people forget we're there? I could block us from the cameras, too."

"Sorry, kiddo," Clint said, shrugging. "We need you to perserve your powers. No sense in you getting there and being too exhausted to do anything about it. Your powers are the key to this plan."

"He's right," Steve said.

Wanda pouted. "But why did I have to be old?"

"Because it's the perfect cover, that's why. It's not that bad. You'll only have to wear it for a few hours." Clint took two more of the watches from his bag. He gave one to Steve and one to Wanda. Curious, Steve put his on and activated it. Wanda gasped and Clint's grin grew bigger as Steve turned to look in the mirror. It was _weird_ to see a teenager with brown hair and brown eyes staring back at him. His brain knew that wasn't what he was supposed to be seeing, but his eyes weren't in agreement.

"This is bizarre," Steve said, pressing the button again.

"But cool, right?" Clint said.

"But cool," Steve agreed. "I'll buy the tickets. First flight, we're outta here."

Less than five hours later, they were on their way to New York. It was the closest international airport. Clint left his car parked in the long-term lot. By the time anyone realized that Marvin and Evelyn Smith had never come back to pick it up, the three of them would be full Avengers again. The airport would probably wave the fee that had accumulated, but even if it didn't they would have plenty of money to get it back. 

None of them had much luggage; they all had one bag to check, and Steve and Clint stowed their weapons in a carry-on bag; Clint admitted he'd purchased some gizmo for $5,000 that would fool the X-ray machine into thinking that there was nothing but random, permitted items in the bag. Just thinking about the astronomical price made Steve wince, but it turned out to be well worth it when they passed easily into the waiting room without a question from the guards. Steve settled into his chair and tried not to grin, putting the bag beneath his feet.

His excitement slowly soured as he watched the line of people waiting to check in. They all had so much luggage. T'Challa had allowed Steve's team to pack one bag when they were leaving Wakanda, and mostly what they'd brought along was the clothing that T'Challa had purchased for them and other toiletries. None of them had taken anything from the Compound, so all of their things were still in storage. While waiting in the airport, Steve lost himself in a dream of walking back into the Compound as a fully instated Avenger. The first thing he would do was rip off all those stupid passkey door locks. The second thing he would do was find his old bedroom, toss out whoever had moved in, and redecorate his room exactly the way it had been before this mess began.

As they got onto the plane, he was reminded all over again how weird it was to look at Clint and Wanda and see the faces of strangers staring back at him. He knew that Wanda was very uncomfortable, but it was a sacrifice they all needed to make. Getting caught at this point wouldn't be too horrible - it would be easy for them to argue that he, Clint and Wanda had decided to go on vacation now that they were technically free people. They'd get questions about why they were travelling under fake names and with holograms, but Steve could always say it was because they wanted to travel anonymously.

However, getting caught once would mean they'd be watched very closely. Putting their plan into motion a second time would be next to impossible. Wanda had admitted that she didn't think she could stretch her powers that far to affect everyone from such a long distance, but that would be a moot point anyway. The three of them needed to be close to the action. Otherwise, they'd just be taking an entire town of people hostage for no reason. It might still prove the point about the Avengers being unable to maneuver properly, but Steve thought it would take much longer and wouldn't have the same impact.

No, the three of them needed to be there for this work. They needed to be the heroes. And that's really why they were doing this, because the Earth deserved heroes that were not restricted by arbitrary rules set in place by people with agendas. He kept that thought firmly fixed in his mind as he reached out and gave Wanda's arm a quick squeeze. She looked up, surprised by the contact, and actually smiled, so he figured that things would be okay.

The flight was long and uncomfortable. Steve remembered the quinjet with a pang of longing. It had been built with him and Thor in mind when it came to the seats, so there had always been ample leg room. Wanda muttered something unkind under her breath about Tony, and Steve couldn't bring himself to chastise her. He could understand her frustration. He'd seen Tony's personal jet. It was very spacious considering that it was usually only Tony and Pepper who traveled on it. Tony probably didn't even know what the inside of a commercial plane looked like, much less what it was like to sit in economy.

The plane landed in Paris. From there, they took another short flight and then a train ride. At that point, Clint fiddled with the holograms and swapped out their looks. The Smiths disappeared, replaced by three college students backpacking across Europe. It meant that they had a much easier time getting close to the Hydra base. Only Wanda and Steve approached, getting within about ten yards of the privacy fence, with Clint staying back to keep a watch out. Steve monitored the space around them, ready to protect Wanda if anything happened, while Wanda closed her eyes. Even through the hologram, the flash of her scarlet magic was clearly visible. He breathed with her, willing his strength into hers.

It took about ten minutes. Then Wanda opened her eyes and smiled. "It's done. I got to nineteen people and implanted the suggestion in their minds. They'll meet us there by tomorrow morning, and they'll have brought along all the explosives and other supplies we need. We should go now; they're getting ready to change the patrols and that means they'll do a perimeter check."

"Got it. Let's fall back," Steve said, grabbing her arm to guide her. He felt a giddy thrill knowing that their plan was being set into motion, and that they were using Hydra to do it. He saw the same excitement mirrored in Clint's and Wanda's faces when they met up again, and he decided that they could spent some of the last thousand dollars they had left on a good meal tonight. They deserved to celebrate a little.

In the morning, they took another train ride that got them pretty close to the border. From there, they hiked across and rented a car. It took the last of their money to get the woman behind the counter to look the other way about none of them having proper identification, but it was worth it. Clint took the driver's seat again, but this time Steve sat in the passenger's seat so that he could navigate. They wanted to surprise the village, meaning they needed to approach quietly. For that reason, they left the car and walked the last mile. 

"Can you sense the agents?" Clint whispered as they hiked through the forest.

Wanda nodded and tapped her head. "I'm connected to them. Right now, they're all sitting on the ground waiting for us to approach."

"Did you implant the idea in their brains?" Steve asked.

"No. This is a little more complicated. They're basically going to be my puppets once everything begins. I need to maintain control if I'm going to make sure that they don't hurt anyone," Wanda said. "I might have to ease up if it all gets to be too much, but right now I'm good."

"Good," Steve said. They crested a ridge and saw the town below. It was as small as their research had said it was, set into a little valley that was at the base of a mountain - that prevented anyone from sneaking up on the town, and would also mean that "help" could only come from a handful of directions. No one would be surrpising them. Steve took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, then nodded to Wanda and Clint. They nodded back at him and then Wanda closed her eyes. Her expression changed to one of fierce concentration. 

It happened slowly, but it felt fast. Steve watched as nineteen Hydra agents, all of them clearly wearing the uniform, walked into the town and began shooting their weapons. People screamed a lot. There was chaos for a good fifteen minutes. But the agents - and Wanda through them - were remarkably quick at getting things under control. Steve was too far away to hear what was being said, but he could see the agents gathering everyone into the center of the town. Nineteen agents for five thousand people didn't seem like much, but the people were very quick to obey. He wondered if Wanda was hastening their compliance with her powers and felt a renewed surge of pride in just how far she had come. What the hell had the Accords Council been talking about, wanting to send her for training with that Xavier guy? Wanda didn't need that. She had perfect control.

Clint whistled softly. "Look at that. You gonna let a few of them go?" he asked Wanda.

Wanda nodded slightly, eyes still shut. "I already did," she said. "You just didn't see them go. I implanted what they needed to know into their brains. They think they were able to steal a vehicle and drive away with no one the wiser."

"It'll take them approximately two hours to reach help," Steve said to Clint. "We need to make sure that we're in position before that happens."

"I'm not too concerned," Clint muttered. "It'll take the police a while to get here."

"Still. I don't want to leave anything to chance." Steve lifted his arm. The shield was a comfortable and comforting weight. Again, he wished he'd thought to ask T'Challa for uniforms. He was wearing the one he'd worn in Siberia, but it was patched and still blood-stained in some places. Clint's and Wanda's uniforms had seen better days, too.

Then again, maybe it was better that they were wearing these uniforms. There had been a lot of publicity after what happened in Siberia. The world was used to seeing the Avengers in a certain way. Steve would be easily recognizeable as Captain America, dressed the way he was. There would be no chance of anyone mistaking him for someone else. The same went for Clint and Wanda. And that was definitely what they wanted: there could be no mistake that Captain America, Scarlet Witch and Hawkeye had been the ones to act and save these people while the New Avengers did nothing. 

"Do it," he said to Wanda.

She took a deep breath. Her hands shifted. Clint turned to look and Steve followed his gaze. The first explosion happened on the far side of the town. It made the ground beneath their feet tremble. This one was generated as a result of Wanda's forethought: she'd forced the Hydra agents to set up some explosives before they went into the town, just to make a point. The rest were going to be set up strategically. Clint had already identified the places where they needed to be on a map. It was important that they covered as much of the area around the town as possible to avoid letting any police or the military getting too close.

Wanda said, "I've put the women and children and some of the men to sleep. I kept the rest awake so that it will look like they can help with searching for the gold mine. It'll be more believable that way."

“Good job,” Steve said proudly, clapping a hand on her shoulder. It was nice to look at her and actually see her face instead of seeing a stranger. She grinned back at him, pleased by the praise. He was glad to see that there were no signs of strain or fatigue in her face; she seemed to be handling this task as easily as she’d ever done anything else that was asked of her. He’d been a little concerned about her getting tired, so this was a good sign.

The next two and a half hours were filled with work – for the people below them, anyway. Clint took off, making his way closer so that they could be sure that the explosives were being placed exactly where they were supposed to be. Steve stayed with Wanda; he was confident that no one would be able to sneak up on them since no one knew that they were here, but he wanted to be close enough to protect her just in case.

“The last of the explosives are in place,” Wanda said finally. She opened her eyes and looked up at Steve. “The Hydra agents are already outfitted. I made some of the men in the town take up weapons as well.”

“Wanda, they could be penalized for that,” Steve said. “We didn’t agree on that.”

“I know, but I think it’s necessary. We only have nineteen people to work with. The more people we can take down, the better we’re going to look. Taking down fifty people, even if thirty-one of them are hostages, looks a hell of a lot better than just nineteen.”

Steve was about to argue more with her, but Clint came crashing out of the underbrush. “They’re coming,” he gasped. “I climbed a tree. I saw them.”

That explained why his uniform was covered with sap. Steve swallowed, feeling a fresh surge of adrenaline. This was it. The best part of their plan was coming. All they had to do was have the Hydra agents take a stand and open fire on the police – carefully, of course, so that no one was hurt – and make it blatantly obvious that the police and military were helpless. Then they would be able to save the day.

He couldn’t wait. He was already picturing how shocked Tony and Rhodes were going to look when they heard the news. It would feel so good to walk up to them and finally have them both be forced to acknowledge that Steve had been right all along. And Peggy. He hoped she would be proud, and that she would realize that Steve was still the same person she’d thought he was. But there was only one way to find out.

“Let’s get closer,” he said, seeing the old sparke in Wanda’s eyes. Clint was standing straighter than he had in months. This was where they were meant to be.

By the time the three of them had hiked closer to the town, the police had started to arrive. The military were on their heels. Steve was gratified by the sight of a helicopter because it meant that the threat was being taken seriously. He eyed the men and women that were getting out of cars and trucks. He did a quick tally, trying to figure out how many had arrived, but more and more were coming.

And then, on their heels, came some of the news trucks. Steve felt his grin split across his face. He’d never been so happy in his life to see the press. This was another reason they’d chosen this country, as there were few restrictions on the press. He knew that when this story hit the local airwaves, it would be picked up by national news in a matter of minutes. It was exactly what they needed. For once, the press was actually going to work on their side.

A member of the police force came to the font with a megaphone in his hand. Before he could say so much as a word, the second of the explosions went off. Three more followed in rapid succession. Steve kept his balance and reached out to steady Wanda; his stomach flipped over when he noticed that some of the military agents had been a little too close to the sight of the fourth explosive. Five people were laying on the ground, unmoving. He hoped desperately that they were just stunned and not worse, but either way he felt it was too late to stop now.

Attempts at negotiations were made, but of course they went nowhere. Wanda had the Hydra agents refuse and threaten to kill everyone in the town if the military and police didn't back off. Even at a distance, Steve could see the uncertainty growing amongst the good guys. No one seemed to be sure how this was supposed to be handled; they believed, and with good reason, that if they stormed the town, a lot of the people would die before the Hydra agents could be apprehended. And in a regular situation, Steve supposed that he, Wanda and Clint would've faced a similar problem - though of course, they just would've used Wanda's powers to get in closer. Normal people didn't have that luxury.

"It's on," Clint said suddenly. He was peering at his phone. He tuned the screen to show Steve. CNN had picked up the story and it was a breaking news event on their homepage. "Been for about fifteen minutes. I'd say that's long enough, wouldn't you?"

"I think so. It's been half an hour since they showed up. That's long enough for us to claim that we were close and traveled here," Steve said. He activated the shield It was so loud that he couldn't hear the thrum of energy, but he could feel it. "Wanda, make sure you keep to the back. I don't want anyone to figure out that you're using your powers."

"I know," Wanda said. Beads of sweat stood out on her forehead, but she smiled grimly at Steve.

"Finally," Clint said, eyes gleaming. He put an arrow to his bow and drew back the string, peering through the scope. Seconds later he released. His arrow soared over the heads of the military and sank deeply into the shoulder of one of the Hydra agents. Steve could tell the second that Wanda released her control, as the agent shrieked in pain quite suddenly and collapsed into a heap on the ground.

There was a moment of stunned silence during which no one reacted, and Steve made his move. He leapt out from behind the tree, grasped the side of the energy shield and smoothly hurtled it. He'd practiced with it a bit, but it was still gratifying to watch it go exactly where he'd thrown it. The shield slammed into one of the Hydra agents and sent the woman to the ground. Steve cocked his hand, making a motion with the arm guard, and grinned triumphantly as the shield immediately reversed directions and flew back towards him. He caught it effortlessly as the Hydra agent clambered back up to her feet.

Whispers in languages that Steve didn't know ran rampant, but Steve paid them no mind. He saw several people moving to intercept them but dodged them, taking a running start and literally leaping over their hands. "That's enough, Hydra!" he boomed, making sure that his voice would carry enough so that everyone heard it. "I won't let you hurt innocent people! The Avengers will stop you!"

Several more explosions went off, as though to protest Steve's words. One of them was uncomfortably close to Steve; he used the resulting moment of panic to backhand the nearest Hydra agent across the face. Smoke from the explosions was pouring over the area and made it hard to see and speak. Steve tasted ash and chemicals when he swallowed. To his right, he caught a glimpse of flames and realized that one of the explosions must have started a fire. That hadn't been in their plan either, but now that it was happening they couldn't do anything about it.

"Steve!" Wanda yelled somewhere to his left. Steve turned automatically and just barely avoided being decapitated as a Hydra agent swung an axe as his head. He jerked back, befuddled, because that had been a little too close for comfort and he wasn't sure why Wanda had made the agent do that.

But then he got close enough to see Wanda, and he realized with a sinking feeling what was happening. Her face was so pale she looked like a ghost in a scarlet uniform, sweat rolling down her cheeks and lines of strain around her eyes. Steve tried to get to her, but received a blow to the stomach for his trouble. He doubled over and the smirking Hydra agent pulled a gun. Steve grabbed the man's wrist with his left hand and squeezed until the agent gave a shout of pain and dropped the gun.

"Wanda!" he shouted. "What's going on?"

"I can't!" Wanda shrieked. Three more explosions went off. This one was so close that Steve could feel the heat. He stumbled and saw, through the smoke, what appeared to be a flat-out brawl between the Hydra agents and the townspeople. He realized in a flash of understanding that made his stomach sink that Wanda had pushed herself too far and that her conrol had snapped. He needed to get to her _now_.

It was hard to see and even harder to hear over the chaos. Steve felled people left and right, not caring whether it was someone on his side or not. His eyes strained to catch a glimpse of Wanda or Clint, but he couldn't seem to find either one of them. Occasionally he could hear Wanda's voice rising above the yelling and fighting, but he couldn't tell what direction it was coming from. For the first time, he wished that he, Wanda and Clint had never left the Compound, and that they'd stayed and figured out a way to bring down the Accords from within.

More explosions. This time, Steve got thrown into the air. He landed hard, gasping for breath. He didn’t remember Wanda saying she was going to set up this many explosions. How many had she had the Hydra agents set up? Why hadn’t she thought to limit them? He struggled to sit up and nearly got his eye poked out by a man waving a sword. Steve punched him in the face, grabbed the sword and threw it aside. He struggled to think.

From overhead, he heard a loud whirring sound. The air turned damp. Steve spun instinctively just in time to get drenched by water. To his right, he heard the sound of the crackling flames start to die out. The smoke began to dissipate. Something orange flowed in the air just in front of him; a Hydra agent started to charge at him and then, having passed through the orange light, immediately collapsed.

And then, as the air cleared, Steve realized they weren’t alone.

“Everyone stop!” War Machine bellowed, his voice carrying easily thanks to the armor. “Get down on the ground and put your hands in the air.” He repeated the message in three different languages. 

Bits of webbing shot past Steve’s nose as Spider-Man sailed overhead, using his webbing to capture people who had refused to obey. Steve could see Dr. Strange now, making strange symbols with his hands and causing the orange light to flare even brighter. Captain Marvel, Vision, Iron Man and Siren were on the ground, helping to disarm the fighters. He couldn’t see Wasp, but he was positive that she was there – she could shrink just like Ant-Man, so she could be right beside Steve and he wouldn’t know it.

“Get down on the ground!” War Machine yelled again. This time, he was looking straight at Steve.

No way was Steve doing that. He hadn’t done anything wrong, and he was here to help. He just didn’t know how the New Avengers had gotten here so quickly. Had they used one of Strange’s portals? That was the only conclusion Steve could come to and it was infuriating. After all this planning, the New Avengers had ruined everything in the span of minutes. Now the world would see them as the heroes, and all because Steve, Wanda and Clint hadn’t had the chance to prove themselves!

“I can help!” Steve shouted back, grabbing the energy shield. He threw it again and was satisfied when it struck its target, removing a gun from the hands of a Hydra agent before she could shoot at Captain Marvel. Steve followed the trajectory of his shield, using his momentum to tackle the agent and bring her harmlessly to the ground. She hit hard and lay quiet. He took that as a sign that the tide was finally turning.

Over his head, two arrows soared. Steve twisted, finally spotting Clint. He was limping, but wore an expression of grim determination as he fit an explosive arrow to the string and released. The explosive arrow made contact with a vehicle that was trying to flee the town; it promptly exploded, and Steve flinched. Whoever had been driving was surely dead now. The arrows T’Challa had sent were much stronger, or maybe more delicate, than the ones that Stark had created.

“Hawkeye! Stop!” Iron Man called. “Stand down!”

“Wanda, no!” Vision roared at the same time.

Steve’s head snapped around. He was just in time to see red light dancing around Wanda’s fingers. Steve didn’t know what she was trying to do, but the malevolent smile on Wanda’s face suggested that her actions wouldn’t have had good consequences. He started forward automatically, trying to get to her because he knew she was in danger. Over her head, he saw Strange’s hands flying as orange sparks littered the forest floor – 

A Hydra agent seized a gun. “This is what you get for defecting from Hydra to save your own ass!” he yelled, and shot. 

Wanda never had a chance. She didn’t even see it coming, and no one else was close enough to save her. Steve watched in horror as the bullet impacted, a through-and-through directly into her upper chest. Her body jerked and an expression of surprise crossed her face. The red light flickered and died and Wanda collapsed. Steve screamed her name and, behind him, heard Clint echo his scream.

“Oh my god! Wanda!” Steve ran to her, feeling like he was moving in slow motion. He knew as soon as he knelt beside her that she was dead. There was just way too much blood, but he was still seized with the urge to put something over the wound to make it stop. His hands fluttered uselessly, the shield catching the light.

“Steven Rogers, back away from the body. Put your hands in the air.”

Steve recognized that voice and looked up in astonishment. Siren was standing over them, one hand out in a pose he’d seen Tony use countless times. His eyes locked onto her hand. The repulsor was quiet, but that didn’t mean much. Distantly, he remembered thinking that he was lucky Peggy hadn’t shot him again. There was a very real possibility his luck had just run out.

“Peggy,” he said breathlessly. “I didn’t – we weren’t – I’m not –”

“I don’t want to hear it. Stand. Down.”

Mutely, Steve obeyed. A quick glance around showed that everything had ended. Almost all of the Hydra agents, some townspeople, and some military and police officers were laying on the ground. He knew they were all dead. Only a couple of Hydra agents had survived, and they were being pulled into custody by War Machine. Captain Marvel was putting a pair of handcuffs on Clint.

“Give me your hands,” Siren commanded. She snapped a pair of handcuffs onto Steve as well. He tested them automatically and was surprised to find that they easily held. Apparently Tony had been busy, creating things that could withstand the strength of supersoldiers.

“Am I under arrest?” Steve asked numbly.

“Yes. That’s the least of your problem,” Siren said. “Fuck, Steve, what were you thinking?”

They had a cover story. Steve gave his head a good shake to clear it. “We were in the area when we saw the news. We couldn’t _not_ do something,” he said. “We had to try and help.”

The blank helmet turned in his direction, the glowing blue eyes staring at him. It was impossible to tell what Siren was thinking or feeling behind that helmet. She said, “It never occurred to you that it would be illegal? I know that you were told that vigilantism would be punished.”

“We had to help,” Steve repeated, clinging to that. That was all they were doing, after all. They were just trying to help. They hadn’t meant for things to go wrong.

Siren didn’t say anything else. She slid a hand under his arm and helped him to his feet, then marched him through the bodies towards the quinjet. Steve was sickened as he passed by the carnage. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Wanda had promised that her grasp on her powers was good enough to prevent her from losing control. Had she been lying? Or was she just too cocky? 

It didn’t matter now. Steve was directed up the plank and strapped into one of the quinjet’s seats. With his hands cuffed, he couldn’t get free. Siren left then, but Steve had the feeling he was being monitored. He looked around, wondering how the quinjet had gotten here. Its presence suggested that the New Avengers hadn’t resorted to using one of Strange’s portals after all. So how had they arrived so quickly?

His suspicions about being monitored proved correct when Clint was marched inside moments later. Wasp appeared as though from nowhere, nearly giving Steve a heart attack, and helped Captain Marvel to strap Clint down. Then Captain Marvel walked back out and Wasp vanished. Steve strained to see her, certain that she was flying around somewhere nearby, but her form was just too small.

“We fucked up,” Clint said numbly.

“Wanda fucked up,” Steve said. He didn’t think their cover story was going to hold up. They could stick with it, but he wouldn’t have been surprised if someone called them on it very shortly.

Clint just looked at him, filthy and bloody and exhausted. “We all did.”

There wasn’t much Steve could say to that, and he suspected that Clint wasn’t really in the mood to talk either way. Both of them remained quiet, listening to the sounds of voices outside the quinjet. Anything spoken in English was too quiet for Steve to be able to hear, and anything else was in a language he didn’t understand. He regretted not choosing a country where he or Clint understood the language.

Approximately two hours after they’d been sequestered in the quinjet, the New Avengers returned. Coulson was with them. None of them even looked at Steve or Clint. It was like they didn’t exist. Siren walked up front and took the pilot’s seat; Steve noticed that Clint’s face screwed up angrily when he saw that. Clint had always been the one to pilot the quinjet in the past, because he was the best pilot amongst them by far, but that was just something else that had changed.

Coulson walked over to them and stood there for a moment, arms crossed. “Well?”

“Well what?” Steve said when the silence dragged on.

“What do you have to say for yourselves? I’m waiting.”

Clint didn’t seem inclined to speak, so Steve cleeared his throat and said, “We were on vacation. We saw the coverage of what was going on and thought we could help.”

Someone snorted. Somehow, Steve wasn’t surprised to see that it was Iron Man. The faceplate flipped to reveal Tony’s disgusted expression. He looked as tired as Steve felt, with dark circles under his eyes that were all the more prominent because of how pale he was. At one time he might’ve stepped out of the armor and come closer. Not now. He remained in the armor and kept his distance.

“Just so you know, we know exactly how much bullshit that is,” Tony said. “Did you really think you could just waltz out of the Compound and not be monitored?”

“You were tracking us?!” Clint exclaimed. “That’s illegal!”

“Not me. T’Challa,” Tony said. He saw their faces and smirked wearily. “Yeah, you didn’t think that T’Challa talked to anyone else but you, did you? He contacted me the minute you three asked him for weapons. He’s not stupid. Wakanda faced its own repercussions for harboring three fugitives over the past year. He can’t afford to be associated with the wrong people right now, and he knew that there was something fishy about your story.”

Steve swallowed. He didn’t want to believe it, but… “If that’s true, why did he give us the weapons then?”

“I asked him to,” Coulson said calmly. “I discussed the matter with my superiors. There was a lot of concern that, if T’Challa didn’t provide you with the weapons you’d asked for, you would result to using less trustworthy sources.” He cut a dark look towards Clint, who scowled. “His Highness was only too happy to add a tracking chip to the weapons that he gave you.”

T’Challa had sold them out. Steve felt incredibly stupid at that moment. It had never occurred to him that T’Challa might have been in contact with the New Avengers. He suddenly realized that he didn’t even know if Wakanda had signed the Accords or not. T’Chaka had been a staunch supporter of them, but Steve had always assumed that T’Challa wasn’t since the king had offered them sanctuary. And he’d never bothered to ask, because the Accords were the very last topic any of them had wanted to discuss.

“Naturally,” Coulson continued, “I grew very concerned when we saw the weapons heading towards an international airport. Since there were no tickets issued to Clint Barton, Steve Rogers or Wanda Maximoff, I checked into some of our old sources and found that a certain someone had requested three new passports.”

Clint flinched. “You knew about Bear?”

“Natasha told me.”

“She what?” Clint looked disbelieving. “She would never!”

“Yes she would, if she thought that you were going to do something stupid. Turns out that she was right. No one was really sure what you were planning when you went to a Hydra base. We thought that maybe you were going to attack them by yourselves. The New Avengers were standing by to save your ass,” Coulson added bitterly.

Instinctively Steve looked at Tony, but Tony wouldn’t meet his gaze. Chances were, Tony hadn’t been looking to save them. The thought of just attacking the Hydra base had never actually occurred to Steve. He wondered why. It would’ve been a good show of strength… but then again, they’d all been set on doing something that proved how terrible the Accords were. The New Avengers could attack Hydra bases too.

“But then you moved on. We continued to track you. When you settled here, we obtained permission to enter the country to collect you –”

“But they didn’t sign the Accords!” Steve burst out. “You weren’t allowed!”

Apparently that was the wrong thing to say, because Coulson and every single New Avenger looked at him. Even Siren turned around from the pilot’s seat to stare. Steve glanced from one incredulous expression to the next and felt his stomach clench. Clint, at least, looked as confused as Steve did, so there was someone else who wasn’t in the loop. It wasn’t as comforting as Steve might have hoped.

“Are you kidding me?” Wasp burst out. “That’s really what you think the Accords are for? You think that just because we signed them, we’re never allowed to enter the countries that haven’t? Are you for real right now?”

“Hope,” Coulson said without looking away from Steve.

Wasp quieted, but she was still shaking her head.

“But the Accords have restrictions,” Steve said, still bewildered. 

“Yes, they do,” Coulson said. “But all those restrictions mean is that we don’t have blanket permission to enter those countries. By going through the appropriate legal and political channels, we can _obtain_ permission if the situation necessitates it. Say, by informing the local government that two Americans and a Sokovian have illegally entered their country and requesting permission to hunt them down and bring them back to the United States, and then being legally granted that permission.”

Steve opened and closed his mouth wordlessly. He didn’t know what to say to that.

“Didn’t you read the Accords?” Tony demanded sharply. 

“I… yes,” Steve said. “Catherine gave them to me.” But he didn’t remember reading anything that indicated that the New Avengers could request permission to enter foreign countries. He’d just sort of assumed that any countries that hadn’t signed the Accords were being left to fend for themselves.

“Wait, you mean you didn’t even read them before? Back when you were protesting against them?” Wasp said, apparently unable to keep silent for long. She looked astonished.

Steve scowled. “I didn’t have to. The Accords restrict our movements. They were created by people with agendas!”

“The Accords don’t restrict us. They hold us accountable,” Siren said. She stood up and removed her helmet. Peggy’s hair was pulled back in a braid, keeping her face clear. She was wearing silver lipstick. It looked glaringly odd against a face that Steve was used to seeing framed in a no-nonsense hairstyle and red lipstick.

“What do you mean?” Steve said.

“I meant that the Accords make sure we can’t do whatever the bloody hell we want without being taken to task for it,” Peggy snapped. “Which is exactly what the SSR was created to do. If you only knew how many idiots I had to put up with, all of them trying to operate in the dark. None of them caring about who they hurt or the consequences of their actions. All of them only caring about themselves and their own agendas.”

She advanced a step, looking pissed. “I helped to create the SSR so that there would be an agency in place to help keep track of those people and stop them before, or when, they went too far, and make sure there were consequences for what they did. The Accords and the Accords Council are no different, except this time I’m proud to say that they’re far less likely to end up having Hydra operatives hiding inside of them.”

“But then there’s people like you,” Rhodes said. He had removed his helmet too, and he moved to stand half in front of Tony. “People who think that they’re above the law, so they can do whatever they want. Like illegally cross borders, use mind control and take _whole towns of people hostage_!” He was shouting by the end of his sentence, and Coulson put up a restraining hand.

“I want the truth,” he said quietly. “Right now.”

Steve wasn’t going to say anything, but Coulson wasn’t looking at him. He was staring at Clint. Steve looked at Clint too, trying to silently will Clint to be strong. Right now, they didn’t know the whole story. There was still a chance they could squeeze through this without everything coming out into the light. But Clint wouldn’t meet his eyes, and a second later he started talking.

“Wanda took control of some Hydra agents and had them take the town hostage. She put most of the people to sleep and only kept a few awake to make sure that the police would know there were hostages. But I think it was more than she could handle. She lost control when we started fighting them.” Clint paused. “I don’t know why.”

“I do,” said Strange. “Ms. Maximoff was very young and, regardless of what she claimed, didn’t have a good grasp on her powers. There was a reason that her contract stipulated that she would have to spend time at the Xavier Institute: it was – would have been for her own safety, to help her get a better grasp on her powers. I noticed immediately that she was inexperienced and tried to take on too much. I’ve seen it happen before. Overconfidence has done in more sorcerers than anything else.”

Clint winced. “Yeah, maybe. Anyway, she lost it and things just kind of spiralled out of control.” He shrugged.

“Spiralled out of control,” Coulson repeated in a low voice. “You do understand that there were over fifty casualites as a direct result of your actions? Seventeen Hydra agents, a dozen police offiers, five military officers, and several innocent victims from that town are all dead now because you three decided that you wanted to be heroes. And rather than wait for something to happen, you decided to _make_ something happen.”

Put like that, it sounded bad. Really bad. It was the first inkling Steve got that they weren’t just going to walk away from this. In a desperate bid to help himself, he said, “Clint and I didn’t really do anything. Wanda was the one who used her powers to mind control everyone.”

“Nice try, Rogers. Both of you are definitely accessories. You’re not going to just walk away from this,” Coulson said. 

“You do remember that part about accountability?” Peggy said.

“We never signed the Accords,” Steve said quickly.

“Which means you won’t be subject to the Accords Council. You’ll be charged by both countries. Those Hydra agents were U.S. citizens, you know,” Coulson said. “I can’t say exactly what’s going to happen, but at the very least you’re both going to prison for a long time. Your pardons only covered the crimes that you committed before they were written. They had nothing to do with any crimes you committed going forward. Congratulations, you’ve both wasted a blank slate and ended up exactly where you started.”

“But I’m Captain America,” Steve said weakly.

“You were Captain America,” Coulson corrected him. “Right now, you’re just Steve Rogers, a man who is in a lot of trouble with the law.”

“You can’t take that away from me!” But even as Steve spoke, he was remembering part of his conversation with Catherine. She’d flat-out told him that the idea of Captain America didn’t belong to him. He might have been the first person to wear the uniform and hold the shield, but that didn’t mean he would be the last. The thought of someone else stepping up as Captain America made Steve feel sick to his stomach, but he couldn’t think of any way to prevent that from happening now.

“Actually, they can. You don’t even own the suit you’re wearing,” said Tony. “The idea of Captain America belongs to the U.S. army. They’re the ones who created you. They’re free to appoint anyone to the title of Captain America that they want. Of course, after this mess they might not want to.”

“But I…” Steve trailed off. His head was spinning. Everything had gone wrong. He couldn’t even pinpoint when their plan had fallen to pieces. Had it been when Wanda lost control? When they’d received the weapons from T’Challa? Or maybe when they’d cooked up the plan in the first place. 

“Why did you do it?” The question came from Peggy, and she was looking at Steve. “Why?”

Because it was Peggy, Steve felt compelled to answer. “Because we wanted to prove that the Accords were too restrictive. We chose a country that hadn’t signed them in the hopes that – that…”

Peggy finished his sentence. “You were hoping that we would be too late, or that we wouldn’t be able to come at all, and the three of you could come out looking like heroes. And then you would be able to use your grand little plan to spout off about how terrible the Accords were in the hopes that they would be abolished, never once thinking about how incredibly stupid that was or how much potential there was for things to go wrong and peopleto get hurt.” She sounded more disgusted with every word she spoke. Steve’s dream of getting Peggy to see things from his point of view were going up in smoke.

“We just wanted everything to go back to how it was,” Steve whispered.

“That’s the problem with you, Rogers. You’ve never moved on.” Tony’s eyes bored into him. “You were so obsessed with the past that you never even thought about the future. I hope that you’re really happy with where that’s gotten you, because you’ll have plenty of time to think about the past where you’re going.”

It was a cruel comment, but as Steve searched the faces of everyone on the plane, he realized they weren’t going to get any sympathy. “Peggy, I –”

Peggy just turned away, shaking her head, and returned to the pilot’s seat. Her dismissal was as good as a slap in the face. Steve watched as, one by one, the others lost interest as well. Strange joined Peggy at the front of the plane. Tony took out his phone and began typing into it. So did Rhodes, Captain Marvel, Coulson and Wasp. Spider-Man was stuck to the roof of the quinjet and had been silent this whole time. Even Clint was looking away, staring at the floor. Only Vision would meet Steve’s eyes, and he looked unbearably angry – because of Wanda, maybe? Steve didn’t know anymore.

He only knew that he felt unbearably alone, that it was his own fault, and that it wasn’t going to change anytime soon.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [tumblr](http://tsuki-chibi.tumblr.com/).


End file.
